Sunshine - by Bryant Lin (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"A powerful, moving memoir. I learned so much, not only about illness and caregiving, but finding resilience, joy, and even humor, in some of the hardest moments we all must face."--Daniel Mason, author of North Woods

With remarkable insight and vulnerability, a leading researcher and cancer advocate distills the lessons for living that he's learned as a doctor and as a patient, after being diagnosed with his own terminal illness--based on his enormously popular Stanford class.

Over the course of his twenty-year career, Dr. Bryant Lin treated many patients with lung cancer. He never smoked, and never imagined that he would be diagnosed with the same terrible disease. After cycling through the stages of grief and two rounds of chemo, he realized that his diagnosis presented an opportunity to learn. For the first time, he experienced the cancer diagnosis and the complexities of treatment as a patient, rather than a doctor.

Determined to give back and to keep teaching, Dr. Lin created a course at Stanford Medical School called From Diagnosis to Dialog: A Doctor's Real-Time Battle with Cancer, to share his experience with a terminal illness as both a doctor and a patient. The class was a sensation on campus and soon attracted international media attention.

Now, Dr. Lin brings us into the classroom to offer us an inspiring exploration of how to live when you are dying. How can we prepare for intimidating medical news and navigate treatment? How can we find hope in the face of terminal diagnosis? In Sunshine, Dr. Lin offers both philosophical and scientifically grounded insights into how we can make the most out of life even in the most challenging moments.

Review Quotes

"Dr. Lin masterfully outlines his incredible personal journey, highlights invaluable life skills for all of us to cultivate, and shows how the practice of medicine is truly an art that goes beyond science. His words are a reminder of what matters most each day we can take a breath and how to focus on what is truly important in life. His heart, empathy, and wisdom are infused into every page and are uplifting, inspiring, and pure sunshine for the soul."--Tara Narula MD, FAC., chief medical correspondent at ABC News and professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine, Hofstra/Northwell

"This is a warm, wise, and human book about medicine, mortality, and the daily work of finding light."--Hank Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

"Bryant Lin got the diagnosis he spent his career trying to prevent. But he turned his dying into a classroom. I read this book in two sittings, then I put my phone in a drawer and went looking for my family. This is not a book about death. It's a book about not wasting a single day."--Andy Dunn, bestselling author of Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind

"Bryant Lin is a gifted physician-colleague, an educator, an inventor, and a lovely human being. When he was diagnosed with lung cancer, Bryant shaped a memorable Stanford lecture series around his ongoing journey with cancer. It's a precious gift."--Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone

"A powerful, moving memoir, remarkable not only for the depth of its insights but the breadth of its range. Bryant Lin's Sunshine explores the experience of cancer from perspectives ranging from the biomedical to the deeply personal, bearing witness to medicine's triumphs and shortcomings."--Daniel Mason, author of North Woods

"Medical researcher, cancer patient, doctor, entrepreneur, educator, husband, father, son, friend--Bryant Lin's courageous account of living, and of dying, grapples with the hard reality of mortality and the meaning of life. He inspires with boundless hope, generosity, and wisdom."--Gordon H. Chang, professor of History and the Olive H. Palmer professor in Humanities, Stanford University

"Sunshine is a rare narrative blending the insights of a practicing physician and educator for two decades with the reflections of a patient living with stage IV cancer. Weaving lessons from the classroom with his own experience, and infusing wisdom, storytelling, and humor, Bryant Lin has written a testament to choosing resilience during the hardest times. This book gave me hope."--Ilana Yurkiewicz, MD, author of Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care

"Bryant Lin writes with both his head and his heart, offering insights into living with cancer and facing mortality that only a physician experiencing it firsthand would know. Like all great teachers, he is wise, generous, compassionate, and, most importantly, honest."--Brian Fies, author of Mom's Cancer

About the Author

Bryant Lin, MD is a primary care physician in Stanford's Department of Medicine. In 2018, he co-founded (and currently co-directs) the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE), to this day the only medical center among top universities in the U.S. committed to improving the health of Asian communities worldwide. In 2021, he was appointed the Director of Medical Humanities and Arts which supports diversity of educational programming and integrates philosophical and cultural teachings into medical students' lives and careers. Sunshine is his first book.