Title: Beating The Odds: 11 Lessons to Overcome a Health Crisis and Lead a More Resilient Life
Author: Chris Macleod
Page count: 141
ISBN: 978 1 7775753 0 4
Chris Macleod, a fierce advocate for patients in need of life-sustaining medications and treatments, and founder of the not for profit organization, Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Society, has authored the novel Beating the Odds: 11 Lessons to Overcome a Health Crisis and Lead a More Resilient Life.
Macleod has lived with Cystic Fibrosis since being diagnosed as a child. He wrote and published the part autobiography, part self-help book to assist others suffering from life long illnesses. Macleod teaches the importance of overcoming your illness through a strong and optimistic mentality. The book is divided into 11 chapters, one for each of the 11 lessons to live by.
“Chris Macleod shows us the remarkable strength of the human spirit in Beating the Odds. His lessons are an inspiration to anyone looking to overcome hardship in their life,” says Frank Stronach, Founder of Magna International Inc. and Chairman of Stronach International Inc.
Macleod recently made the news regarding the approval for the life saving drug Trikafta. Health Canada announced in June 2021 that the Cystic Fibrosis drug has been approved and is available, to be prescribed across the country. The drug can extend the life span, improve the quality of life and reduce the amount of people suffering from lung disease. As well, medications such as, Orkambi and Kalydeco were given approval by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA).
Macleod is thrilled by the news. In 2012, he was given exceptional drug status due to a lung infection that dropped his lung capacity to 30 per cent, and was administered the first-generation gene modulator Kalydeco. These new drugs will help a wide population of Canadians — the people Macleod advocates for.
Order your copy of Beating the Odds here: Beating The Odds: 11 lessons to help you overcome a health crisis and lead a more resilient life.
What the author says about the book:
Every one of us has very real hurdles we need to overcome. To do so we need to cultivate resilience, lean in on focus, discipline, and consistency. Sharpen our habits, rituals, and routines. Easier said than done. But we need to be constantly looking for, listening to, and reading about the experiences of others. Life is about learning. Not just from experience but from others who have walked the same or sometimes a different path. Their stories can be a guide for our own lives if we choose to let them be. Dedicated to all those who fought the good fight but were taken too early. They taught me much, and their memory continues to inspire and will not soon be forgotten. At my darkest hour, I made it to the other side. This book tells the story. It includes anecdotes of the people I have met along the way and the impact they had on my life and my perspective.
About the author:
Born in Montreal and raised in Saskatchewan, Chris Macleod obtained a BA in religious studies and political science from the University of Regina. He then attended McGill University to study at the Institute of Islamic Studies, prior to pursuing a law degree at the University of Saskatchewan. He articled and practiced law in Hamilton, Ontario, from 2000 to 2010. From there he founded the law firm Cambridge LLP. MacLeod spent years working in collaboration with others on the protection of Canadians abroad, including pressing the Canadian and foreign governments when a Canadian citizen is detained overseas and their fundamental human rights are being violated.
