Dr Gillian Shirreffs has already raised over £30,000 for Beatson Cancer Charity and has launched a powerful new book designed to spark open, honest conversations about cancer.
At the Bookface Sip & Swap in Glasgow on Saturday 25 October, held during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Gillian Shirreffs raised another £2,000 for Beatson while introducing her second book, Elephant — a raw, funny and deeply human account of illness, identity and resilience. BBC Scotland’s Pauline McLean generously gave of her time and expertise at the fundraiser.
The book’s title comes from a truth few like to face: one in two of us will get cancer, yet it too often remains the elephant in the room.
Over 800 days, Gillian recorded her own emails, messages, tweets and photographs while living with an aggressive breast cancer — all as her debut novel Brodie became a bestseller and fundraising success for Beatson.
Dr Gilliian Shireffs said: “I wrote my way through diagnosis, treatment and the aftermath of treatment. Sometimes, longer pieces are trying to make sense of the situation, but most often, just short bursts of words.
“Reaching out to friends, family, clinicians, and to anyone who might notice me waving as I bobbed along on the sea of social media. As I wrote these words, I didn’t expect they would one day form a book, but no matter how hard I tried to apply my mind to fiction, the true story that is Elephant refused to leave me alone”.
Unlike a traditional memoir, Elephant was written in real time, showing the chaos, absurdity and flashes of clarity that come when life tilts. It asks readers — and workplaces — to talk more openly about illness, empathy and resilience.
Elephant by Dr Gillian Shirreffs — available now via https://www.intocreative.co.uk/shop/intobooks/elephant-gillian-shirreffs/
