When she discovered she had cancer, Roopa Mulay Desai was a successful creative media professional who had worked on campaigns for top brands, directed numerous television promos, audio visuals, corporate films, documentaries, and digital films and, with her husband Neeraj, shared the upbringing of two lovely daughters aged sixteen and six. She was also an avid cyclist, trekker and marathon enthusiast.
Into this enviably fulfilling and busy existence, burst her cancer diagnosis. She had to draw on deep reserves of mental strength to fight off the inevitable dark thoughts about death; deal with the devastating side-effects of chemotherapy and the loss of desire, will and enthusiasm; and, most importantly, stay strong for her children and husband.
Never Say Die: Outrunning the Cancer Shit is an account of her journey; how she outsmarted and out-ran it, shedding light on the emotional resources and mental mechanisms she adopted. Each chapter about her personal battles and jubilations, has a corresponding chapter on self-help which describes the tools that can be used to make challenging battles of life easier to cope with. The epilogue celebrates her passage back to health. This is both an inspiring story and a practical guide to fighting back when life challenges you. Desai writes: “My journey with cancer has been incredibly hard and at the same time, unbelievably rewarding.”