A Love Affair with the Unknown

A refreshing look at the inevitability of uncertainty and how it can help make the hard parts of life more manageable.

“Gill-high level of comfort with uncertainty,” a producer once noted. But Gill Deacon’s comfort level is put to the test over the course of an illness that is as mysterious as it is debilitating. During this time of not knowing, Deacon investigates the nature of uncertainty itself and demonstrates how we can choose to draw on our innate resilience and learn to thrive in an ever-changing world. She reminds us that, like comedy improvisation and jazz music, beautiful things can result from the unpredictable and unplanned. While providing evidence of the beauty in not knowing, she makes a clear and compelling case that uncertainty is a condition we are built for. In fact, our best shot at creativity, innovation, and human connection occurs when we radically embrace the uncertainty we habitually struggle against.

This thoughtful examination of uncertainty by a warm and wise fellow traveller is a balm that can soothe us in troubling times.

Author Biography

GILLIAN DEACON is an award-winning broadcaster and writer. A familiar voice on CBC Radio, Gill spent over a decade as host of Here & Now, Toronto’s afternoon drive show on CBC Radio One. She is the author of the national bestsellers There’s Lead in Your Lipstick: Toxins in Everyday Bodycare and How to Avoid Them; Green for Life; and the memoir Naked Imperfection. Gill lives in Toronto with her husband and their three sons.