WHEN life gives you lemons, make lemonade’. We’ve all heard this famous adage, but not many live up to this. Encountering adversity, some people bury themselves in anxiety, aggravating the situation.
But Mr Ketan Rajaram Bondre, the author of Not A Cancer Survivor, is of a different mettle. He has actually made ‘lemonade’ out of the ‘lemons’ that life threw at him!
Diagnosed with third-stage colon cancer in mid-2021, Mr Bondre penned this engrossing book while undergoing chemotherapy. Excruciating pain, lack of appetite, and several other manifestations of the king of maladies were his daily fare.
In author’s own words, he decided to write to help others “to get empowered, fearless, and limitless in their lives even during life-and-death situations.” Despite this being his maiden book, he has fulfilled his goal with mastery.
Not A Cancer Survivor transcends its name. Instead of confining the narrative to cancer, the book guides readers about the ways to handle any of life’s hard knocks.
The book is interspersed with interesting anecdotes drawn from historical events, mythology, the Vedas, and the author’s own life. All these drive home a singular point: whether we are defeated by adversities or emerge victorious depends solely on us. We can boldly face all extremes if we know the ‘ultimate truth’ about ourselves. And the ‘ultimate truth’ is – we are much more than just a ‘body-mind complex’.
There is a school of thought which considers ancient Indian teachings pseudo knowledge. The author discards this in style: at the start of each chapter, he quotes a renowned philosopher or domain expert juxtaposed with excerpts from ancient Indian texts or the observations by spiritual gurus that convey the same proposition as the quote.
Through the 120-pager, the author tells us to maintain equanimity in both favourable and adverse situations. Instead of giving in to fear, he advises us take ownership of all that has happened and is happening to us. The actionable summary at the end of each chapter makes the book such an easy read that even a teenager can follow it.
“Nobody is as deeply involved in your life as you are. Hence you need to solve your puzzles…No one can tell you how to live it but yourself” – are some of the powerful lines that the book gifts. And mind you, this is coming not from someone who lacks knowledge of extreme situations, but from an individual who is battling the extremes like a ninja.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr Ketan Rajaram Bondre is a communications professional with two decades of domain expertise. He is currently the Head of Media Relations at Corporate Brand Management & Communications at L&T.
