The Man Who Moved The Nation: A Daughter’s Story

‘I wish I was an actor, because if I was an actor, I’d be acting about dying. But I’m not an actor. I am dying. I’m dying from cancer as a result of smoking.’  – Gerry Collins

 

Those were the words Gerry Collins said in early 2014, moving words which carried across the nation. This was due to his central role in the ads for the HSE’s QUIT campaign, which sought to convince people to give up smoking. The Irish nation saw a brave man warning others, trying to save people from making the same mistake that he made. But Gerry was also a family man. A father.  For Lisa Jennifer Collins, her dad had always been ‘her person’. She simply couldn’t imagine a future without him. In The Man Who Moved the Nation: A Daughter’s Story Lisa guides us through this turbulent period in her life and the life of her family as they battled against the diagnosis, as filming for the ads commenced and the campaign was launched, and the public spotlight was suddenly thrust upon the Collins family – all while Lisa struggled to accept her father’s impending death and Gerry’s health quickly deteriorated. This account of the final months of the life of Gerry Collins, the man who moved the nation with his bravery and honesty, is at once heartbreaking and inspiring, succeeding as it does in capturing the joyful soul of Gerry Collins himself, as well as showcasing the heart and resilience of the daughter and family who supported him right to the very end.

Published by Mercier Press, The Man Who Moved the Nation: A Daughter’s is available nationwide and online. ISBN 9781781175705  RRP €16.99

About the author

Lisa Jennifer Collins was born in Dublin and grew up in Greystones. Lisa is a local business owner, and also works to support and create networks of local businesses and women in business. Lisa lives with her husband in Co. Wicklow. From 2011 to 2014, Lisa, her father Gerry and her wider family took part in an award-winning national television and media campaign to encourage smokers to quit. The QUIT campaign and Gerry Collins are credited with helping reduce smoking prevalence in Ireland by over 100,000 smokers since 2013. The Man Who Moved The Nation is her first book, written about and dedicated to her father.