BOOK: “This is the book I would have liked to read when I was 20. Maybe my life would be different then”, writes Gunhild Stordalen in the introduction to the book “My medicine”. I’m not sure what life-changing insights the book brings. Because this is a surprisingly superficial self-help book, especially since Stordalen is a doctor after all.

Gunhild Stordalen obtained his medical degree in 2007 and a doctorate in orthopedics in 2010. The goal was to become the best trauma surgeon in Norway. At 26, she fell in love with Petter Stordalen and found she’d rather save the world. In 2013, she founded the EAT foundation, which works on climate, food and sustainability. The following year, she was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis, a connective tissue disease, and underwent several very difficult treatments.

observant owl

This is exactly what most people know. What is less known is that until two years ago, according to herself, she led an unhappy superficial life, consumed by her appearance, diets, exercise and addiction to sleeping pills. Until, according to this book, she went through a real painful and introspective life journey that changed everything: “The truth is that I went from a wandering, headless hen to a calm, aware and observant owl . I went from having blinders on to seeing connections. From forced to naturally controlled. From constantly stressed to more relaxed. Yes, just sick to healthy,” Stordalen writes with the somewhat violent imagery that characterizes this account.