Gabriel Weston is a woman of many professional pursuits, between being a practicing surgeon, an accomplished writer, and a BBC presenter.
Starting out at the University of Edinburgh studying English literature, Weston expressed her curiosity in surgery to her friend’s father who was a surgeon. Upon accepting an invitation to witness an operation, she revelled in the magic of the theatre and actively changed her life to achieve this dream.
From there she went to study at the Royal College of Surgeons, qualifying as a doctor in 2000, eventually specialising as an otolaryngologist, or ear, nose, and throat surgeon. “As a literature graduate I thought that that was where the identity was, in what we see and hear and smell and taste,” says Weston. “It is who we are and what we make of the world.”
Having established herself as a promising surgeon, she turned her attentions to writing. In 2009, her first book Direct Red: A Surgeon’s Story was published to much acclaim, winning and being nominated for multiple awards. The book is separated into 14 autobiographical short stories, regaling the reader with tales of her training, practice, and extraordinary experiences working as a surgeon. She wrote the stories while also training as a surgeon between operating theatres and lecture halls.
Despite a hectic schedule thrown in at the deep end of such a pressurised profession, she maintained motivation to document her story with a little help from her publisher. “It was basically the publisher’s cheque. If I didn’t get to the end of the process I knew I would have to pay the advance,” she said jovially. “Once I had written three or four stories I knew there was no turning back. It was an enjoyable and interesting process overall.
“Writing is a funny thing because it is sort of agonising,” she continued. “You have to be enormously disciplined and no one really cares what you’re writing about. About 90 per cent of what comes out is rubbish and has to go in the bin, so I don’t think it would be fair to say that I enjoy it. But it is very fulfilling when you have said something that you wanted to say.”
Read the full interview with Galway Advertiser's Ebhan Loughlin here.
Gabriel Weston will be in conversation with Dr. Maccon Keane at the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway, on July 19 at 4pm as part of this years Festival. For more information on tickets click here.
