François Mai,
With Hope in My Heart: Musings of a Spirited Psychiatrist,
Friesen Press, 2022.
François Mai is a prolific writer of papers in medical and psychiatric journals and of historical biography and fiction. This publication is an autobiographical journey through multiple countries: South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia before finally ending up in Lowertown. It is also a journey through the life of a family, through a medical and academic career, and through the challenges of personal ill health.
The author’s family life with its achievements and its tragedies prepared him for his long and rewarding commitment to psychiatry and his current difficult encounter with prostate cancer. The book is rich with reflections about his relations with parents, siblings, spouse and children. It is also packed with anecdotes related to the medical people and events that inspired him.
Throughout the book, the underlying theme is hope. Despite multiple disappointments, the author looks for and finds a positive silver lining in many situations. Now living with cancer, he finds physical and mental satisfaction in the variety of routes available to him as an avid cyclist. As he reflects on his mortality, he finds spiritual strength through meditation and prayer. It is a book filled with musings and filled with optimism.