Ник Расселл: как автор мемуаров «Bollix» превратила трагедию в силу через дружбу и плавание

Nic Russell's memoir Bollix was “one of the hardest projects” she’s undertaken. Culture 101 5 min read Culture 101 5 min read Caption: In her memoir, author and motivational speaker Nic Russell delves into what formed her resilience. Photo credit: Supplied Author and motivational speaker Nic Russell spent four years writing her memoir, partly because she had to learn how to write it along the way, but also because there was a lot to unpack. Reviewing her and her daughter’s medical records to piece together a timeline meant reliving some of the hardest moments of her life: the death of her daughter from Ewing's sarcoma, her own breast cancer diagnosis, a heart transplant and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “It was a labour of love. I did enjoy writing it. Some of it was very hard to write, but it was a lesson [in writing],” Russell told Culture 101. Nic Russell: When her daughter Kenzie died from a rare and aggressive cancer during Christmas in 2005, Russell was also undergoing treatment for stage-three breast cancer, which she says “failed into significance, quite frankly” because “the worst thing happened”. In the years that followed, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, experienced heart failure caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and received a heart transplant. But holding things together and parenting her son, Conor, would not have been possible without a strong network of friends, she says. “It was an orchestra of friends because one person couldn't have done it by themselves.” Others drifted away because the situation was simply “too big” and they did not know what to do or say. And some become less involved because of distance and time. Russell says she’s has learnt to have compassion, knowing new people will step in to nurture her. “Friendships are very important to me, but some they're there for a time and then life evolves and moves on and they're in your life for a period of time and then they move on again. But they're always with you, that friendship, for that period of time.” Swimming has been another source of resilience. Having grown up by the ocean in Ireland, Russell was always drawn to the water, but realised she had never been taught well enough to achieve her goal of swimming across the harbour. “Like my neurologist said, swimming is the hardest thing for a Parkie to do. And it is that, because you have to get your legs and your arms, your breathing, your head, everything coordinating together. So it's very difficult… “As long as I'm moving forward, I'll do it.” That does not mean she can avoid bad days. “I visit it, I don't live there - is the difference I would make.” After facing one illness after another, Russell says little surprises her now. “Because I'm so used to things going wrong, nothing surprises me, if you know what I mean… it's like I can deal with them because they weren't cancer.” Instead, she focuses on living the life Kenzie did not get the chance to live and filling a bank of happy memories with loved ones. “She would want the adventures that I'm getting, and she didn't… So I think for me to spend my time in the anxiety and in the worry and the sadness and the fear, I would miss it. So when I'm feeling well enough to do these things, I will do them… “So when I am dying and my time is up, I'll have that bank. And that's what I'll remember and say, well, life was good - because I might not get a long life. Kenzie only got three. I'm now 53. “I'm here longer than what I thought I would be. So it's why I still want to be able to enjoy those things and take those opportunities whenever they come.” Get weekly Life highlights Coverage Our editors pick the best of food, arts, culture and lifestyle. Delivered straight to your inbox every Saturday.