The Leopard in My House - by Mark Steel (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

'A deep, personal, clever and witty book' Michael Rosen 'Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again' John O'Farrell 'clear-eyed, humane and engaging' Observer 'inspiring' Guardian

I feel like there's a leopard in my house, locked in a room. I've contacted the leopard authorities and they assure me they are used to dealing with leopards like this, and they have a plan for removing the leopard. It will take a while, though, and once in a while I can hear it growl.

And that's all very reassuring. Even so, several times a day I think to myself: "Hang on, there's a leopard in my house."

One morning, while shaving, the comedian Mark Steel noticed that one side of his neck seemed larger than the other. After a whistlestop tour of assorted medical professionals, a consultant delivered the ominous words that would define the next months of his life: 'I'm afraid it's not good news, Mr Steel'.

And so began a journey into the heart of the NHS, as he embarked on the long and uncertain road to cancer recovery via a range of mildly torturous and entirely miraculous treatments. What, if anything, might he learn about himself - and our capacity for coping with life when times get tough - as he becomes part of a club that one in two British people will ultimately join?

A frank and funny diary of one man's rather trying year, this is an unforgettable and uplifting story of getting ill, getting on with it, and getting better.

Review Quotes

Just like you might bet he would, Mark Steel has given us a deep, personal, clever, witty, painful and hilarious book. His eye lingers on details of the past, present and a possible future, taking us all the way to an answer for 'what's the bloody point anyway?' He shows (not tells) that the answer might be to live and feel life the way he does. Thanks Mark Steel.--Michael Rosen, author of 'Getting Better'

Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again. It's also a very spiritual and philosophical book for a foul-mouthed atheist from Swanley. Final score; Cancer: 1, Mark Steel: 5.--John O'Farrell, author of 'Family Politics'

There are enough cancer memoirs to fill a small bookshop, with bookcases for all the affected body parts. It can feel churlish to apply critical faculties to this of all subjects, but if there is a high bar for the genre, then it's one Mark Steel clears like Dick Fosbury on a good day... The ride we accompany him on is inspiring and invariably very funny.--Simon Usborne, The Guardian

The challenges of navigating the healthcare system are legion, but as this clear-eyed, humane and engaging book makes repeatedly and abundantly clear, without the NHS's central tenet - if you are ill, you will be helped - we are completely sunk.--Alex Clark, Observer

Clear-eyed, humane and engaging--Alex Clark, Observer

The ride we accompany him on is inspiring and invariably very funny--Guardian

This memoir pulls no punches but manages to be both funny and wise. Laughter isn't the best medicine, but this book would be a tonic for anyone undergoing cancer treatment.--Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Books of the Month

About the Author

Sony and Writers' Guild Award-winning writer and comedian Mark Steel is best known for his critically acclaimed BBC Radio 4 show Mark Steel's in Town. Mark has presented the BAFTA-nominated Mark Steel Lectures for BBC Two, and is a regular on BBC One's Have I Got News for You and BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz. He has also written several acclaimed books, including Reasons to be Cheerful and What's Going On? He has also written an adaptation of his critically acclaimed stand-up show Who Do I Think I Am? for Audible, which was released in 2021.