What Matters Now

'Heart-breaking and uplifting, I defy anyone to read this memoir and not be affected by O'Callaghan's honesty and humanity' Irish Times

In 2018, after receiving a life-changing diagnosis, broadcaster Gareth O'Callaghan retired from full-time work and gave up the career that he had loved for decades.

In this deeply personal and inspiring memoir he tells that story, from the moments after his doctor uttered the words Multiple System Atrophy - a progressive and incurable neurological disease that ultimately carries a fatal prognosis - to his struggle to come to terms with a life unplanned.

Recounted with insight and searing honesty, What Matters Now reveals how, regardless of circumstance, we can choose how we live, to the fullest. A stunning and life-affirming account of the power of the human spirit, and the potential for hope even in the darkest times.

"For me, this is not a choice. It's all I want, namely a full and loving life that I strive to choose every day over everything else - considering that maybe the big odds are heavily stacked against that. But I don't care what the odds might be; I'll keep defying them for as long as I can keep fighting and living."

Gareth O'Callaghan is one of Ireland's most popular radio presenters, having enjoyed a successful career that has stretched across forty years.

During that period he has worked for many radio stations, both home and abroad, including RTE and BBC.

He also spent a number of years working as a psychotherapist in Ireland.

In 2018, Gareth took early retirement from his radio career after being diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy.

He is the author of six books, including the 2003 No. 1 bestseller, 'A Day Called Hope', which documented his own personal journey through and beyond depression.

He spends much of his time these days writing and blogging. He continues to challenge this awful illness through daily physical exercise, while urging others with similar debilitating conditions to do the same. He lives in Cork.

'Heart-breaking and uplifting, I defy anyone to read this memoir and not be affected by O'Callaghan's honesty and humanity' Irish Times In 2018, after receiving a life-changing diagnosis, broadcaster Gareth O'Callaghan retired from full-time work and gave up the career that he had loved for decades.In this deeply personal and inspiring memoir he tells that story, from the moments after his doctor uttered the words Multiple System Atrophy - a progressive and incurable neurological disease that ultimately carries a fatal prognosis - to his struggle to come to terms with a life unplanned.Recounted with insight and searing honesty, What Matters Now reveals how, regardless of circumstance, we can choose how we live, to the fullest. A stunning and life-affirming account of the power of the human spirit, and the potential for hope even in the darkest times. "For me, this is not a choice. It's all I want, namely a full and loving life that I strive to choose every day over everything else - considering that maybe the big odds are heavily stacked against that. But I don't care what the odds might be; I'll keep defying them for as long as I can keep fighting and living."

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