About the Author/Publisher

'Doc Irwin' is the alter ego of a former teacher who spent 30 years teaching math as well as assisting in the music department after school. About five years into his retirement, during which he had continued working in the area of math as a private tutor, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The outlook was grim and in a desperate effort to stop worrying and fill his time with something positive, he began writing a series of Math Study Guides for High School students. The project continued for many years as 10 different guides were published. The Grade 9 book actually became a Best Seller in Canada.

However, around the age of 70, after writing about math problems, the author realized that in spite of his underwhelming achievements when he struggled with English in his youth, he actually enjoyed writing stories about his life. Hence 'Doc Irwin', the sidekick of the serious math guy was born, and story after story about his life came pouring out until there were enough for a book called "Looking Back ... The Ramblings of Doc Irwin".

But then another idea popped up. You see, the writing of the 'Doc Irwin' stories was a continuation of the attempted escape from the problem that had led to all this writing in the first place. So, the author finally decided to write about the elephant in the room. The elephant, meaning the prostate problem, could be confronted by writing about it. In the beginning there was no intent to publish any of these thoughts and feelings. But when a volunteer who had driven hundreds of people to appointments for cancer treatment was shown this journal, it was suggested that these writings could possibly help people in a similar situation.

So, in the following pages I've shared my day-by-day thoughts. And thanks to my friend and author, Mark Leslie, and the folks at Draft2Digital the book has become a reality.