By John VanderHaagen

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is honored to announce the 2018 Physician as Writer lecture speaker, Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. Dr. Mukherjee will appear at Meijer Gardens on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7 pm.

Dr. Mukherjee’s accomplishments as both a physician and author are compelling and powerful. Winning a Pulitzer Prize for his book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Dr. Mukherjee’s new book The Gene: An Intimate History, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It is a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: What becomes of being human when we learn to “read” and “write” our own genetic information?

A cancer specialist, Dr. Mukherjee has devoted his life to caring for people affected by cancer, a disease that sickens and kills millions of people around the world each year. As a researcher, his laboratory is on the forefront of discovering new cancer drugs using innovative biological methods. Dr. Mukherjee is equally devoted to and effective in communicating the “story” of cancer through his writings. In his engrossing book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Dr. Mukherjee gives readers a fascinating look into the origins and causes of cancer, its deadly effect on the human body, how it has virtually enveloped modern civilization, and the epic battles that are taking place to control, cure, and conquer it. As he notes, the disease now touches in some way the lives of every man, woman and child in the world, while scientists and physicians work tirelessly to bring new treatments and hope to its victims.

Dr. Mukherjee has been published in Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation, The New York Times and The New Republic. His words both on the stage and on the page are powerful, illuminating, and inspiring.

The Master Lecture Series brings world-renowned gardeners, artists, authors and speakers to Meijer Gardens each spring and fall. The Physician as Writer lecture features doctors who are also highly accomplished writers and speakers, as we explore the parallels of writing and medicine and the power of art—in this case the written word—to heal. Held in the Huizenga Grand Room, lectures are free for members and included with admission for non-members. Pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/FMGLecture