Published in the Irish Examiner, 4th January, 2014
Maurice has written all his life. He was first published on the Junior Page in The Irish Press. There was a pause while he studied medicine, but he has had a medical column ever since he qualified.
“I spent four years postgraduate training in medicine, in paediatrics, gynaecology and psychology, then I became a GP. I gave up practising at the age of forty. These days I write and edit full time.”
Maurice has published 20 volumes of the Irish Medical Directory, but it’s his columns, now appearing in The Sunday Independent of which he is most proud.
“It’s a bit like a weekly clinic, where the patients educate the doctor and lend him their eyes and observations,” he says.
Who is Maurice Gueret?
Date of birth: 1963, in Dublin.
Education: St Mary’s College, Rathmines; The High School Rathgar: Trinity College Dublin.
Home: Terenure, Dublin.
Family: A wife, a daughter and a cocker spaniel.
The Day Job: Writing and editing.
Hobbies: Dog walking and picnics.
Favourite Writers: George Bernard Shaw: Gore Vidal: Alan Bennett: John Banville. “And I love Richard Ellmann biographies.”
Second Book: There are two in the pipeline. A children’s book called Betsy Shrink – Child Psychiatrist, and a follow up to What the Doctor saw.
Top Writing Tip: Keep a lifelong jotting notebook or diary. But consult it only when you are desperate for inspiration.
Web: www.drmauriceguert.com Twitter: @mauricegueret
The Debut: What the Doctor Saw: IMD, Dublin. €16.99.
This comprises 140 published and unpublished pieces from this sharp, yet humorous writer. Gueret writes about everything from Traveller Health and Rude consultants to Papal Health and Sigmund Freud’s birthday.
“Leaving the drudge of daily practise allowed a small chink of enlightenment in. It’s very difficult to think outside medicine, or to look at it dispassionately when you are immersed, or drowning in it.
“I hope readers will realise that health is very much a lucky dip. And that those who preach otherwise are terrible bores!”
The Verdict: A wonderful, beautifully produced book to dip into, learn from, and enjoy.
© Sue Leonard. 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment