What would you do with five years to live? Iain Ward’s answer is an extraordinary story of endurance, humour and an unexpected sense of purpose.

To over 15 million followers worldwide, Iain Ward is The King of Chemo. He’s an endurance athlete and charity campaigner taking on marathon challenges with terminal brain cancer and a wicked sense of humour. In this memoir, he reveals the deeply personal story behind the social media phenomenon, sharing the experiences that shaped him and the drive behind his mission to fund cancer research.

Diagnosed at 30 and given an estimated five years to live, Iain found something he’d been missing: a purpose. He put his love of fitness to work, using endurance challenges to build a global audience and attract sponsors.

His challenges have taken him from windswept weighted walks in Ireland’s 32 counties to an icy marathon in Antarctica, but the distances tell only part of the story. Iain describes the injuries that disrupt his plans, the moments of doubt and the support that keeps him going. He also recounts his cancer treatment, including what it was like to be awake while surgeons operated on his brain.

Honest, irreverent and full of determination, Terminally Optimistic is an inspirational memoir about finding meaning when the future is uncertain. Iain calls himself ‘the luckiest unlucky man on Earth’: his terminal illness gave him an urgency and ambition he’d never known before. His story of resilience invites you to consider what matters most in your own life.

What’s worth your time and energy? What have you been putting off?