It’s been a real pleasure interviewing the variety of guests who have appeared so far on The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy podcast. It continues apace this week as Professor Noel ‘Supervet’ Fitzpatrick took the hot seat to discuss three books from his shelf (the ones that made him cry, changed his life and influenced his childhood). I’ve known Noel for a few years ever since I started interviewing him on radio and television.
He’s a joy to talk to as he always has something interesting to say about his own life or the animal kingdom or a glorious combination of the two. For the podcast , Noel chose three very different and exceptionally interesting books, namely De Profundis by Oscar Wilde (childhood!), The Choice by Edith Eger (made him cry) and Surrender by Bono (changed his life). You can listen back to the show to find out more but I received the most thoughtful and distinctly Noel-esque thank you video message from Noel during the week.
In it, Noel can be seen in full surgical scrubs mid-operation on a dog’s leg. He delivered the message in between cutting, sewing and whatever it is a genius vet does. With bloodstained (gloved) hands and brandishing a scalpel, he bid me farewell and subsequently invited me to his surgery to witness a procedure.
It made me smile, gasp and sit back in awe of a man so in charge of his surgery, but also an honest guy who feels the weight of his shortcomings (as he sees them). His honest and often profound reflections on those three.
