Beyond the Pages: An Interview with Author Dinesh Palipana

Dinesh Palipana OAM is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher. He became the first medical graduate with quadriplegia in Queensland, then the first graduate doctor with quadriplegia to begin work in the state. He was the second graduating doctor with quadriplegia to start working clinically in Australia.

Dinesh works at the Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith University. He was the 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2019. He was the third Australian to receive a Henry Viscardi achievement Award in New York, awarded in 2019.

What experiences or influences inspired you to pursue a career in writing?

I never planned to write a book. Initially, a friend, Sarva Ameresekere, said that he never reads books, but would read mine if I wrote one. Later, I met Jeremy Howick, the author of Doctor You. It was a chance meeting in San Francisco, of all places. He helped me get the foundations of the book in place.

In the end, the author and journalist Jamila Rizvi, help me bring the book to life. I am grateful to all these people who played a key part in this journey.

Could you walk us through your writing process? Do you follow any specific routines or rituals that help you stay focused and motivated?

For me, it was Nike’s 'just do it’. For many things in life, I have realised that intellectualising it too much leads to paralysis - no pun intended! Getting the book written was just about spending time in an office, locked away, writing.

It was fairly easy in this instance, because I was just telling the life story with lessons learned within it. I did read around some of the thoughts that I wanted to expand into, which took a bit of time. The longest process was actually the editorial process. But, it was great to have input from experts. I learned much through that process.

What challenges did you face while writing your book(s) and how did you overcome them?

I wrote it in between working as a doctor and doing other things that I am fortunate to have the opportunity to do. It was about not overthinking it, then setting aside time to pump out the writing.

I often thought, "how lucky am I to get a chance to write a book?” This thought was often energising.

Which authors or books have had the greatest impact on your writing style and what do you admire most about their work?

If I could pick one book, it would be The Book on Writing by Paula LaRocque. It changed the way I think about writing. Having said that, going through law school was foundational as well. Legal education often drums in lessons about writing. The lesson I keep taking away, though, is a focus on simplicity.

I love, for example, books written by Ryan Holiday, Jonas Salzgeber, and Eddie Jaku, for example. They are easy to read. Leonardo da Vinci said, 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ I love simplicity. I wanted the book to be like a conversation, easy to read.

What essential skills do you believe are crucial for an author to succeed in their writing career?

Skills can be built. We can take writing classes, read, books, or even watch videos about it. It's not so much the skill, but the message or story, I think. It's also about persistence. We see so many stories about authors who have tried over and over again to bring their book to the world, eventually cracking it at the 11th hour.

Books have transformed humanity for so long. I think some of the greatest books have changed us because the authors have been persistent.

What does a typical morning look like for you?

Working as a doctor, shifts can be different. I also have the privilege of contributing to different pieces of work in society today. Every day is different. 

With the spinal cord injury, a lot has changed. I don't just jump out of bed into the shower, then drive off to work. It is a routine that involves people and different processes. One piece of advice that I got is to simplify these processes, like McDonald's, so they function near-autonomously. We have found ways to streamline much of the routines that happened around the spinal cord injury

But, while I attend to other things in the morning, I can simultaneously use that time to attend to emails and scheduling. To that, I have also added bits of exercise. The one other thing I do, is to think about three things that I am grateful for every day. This is the foundation of the start of my day, morning or not.

How do you like to unwind after a long day of work?

It depends, but I love the drive home. I listen to music and watch the road. At home, there is a low-calorie ice cream and The Simpsons. These are simple pleasures to wind down with.

I grew up watching The Simpsons. It is clever, ridiculously entertaining, and timeless. Nearly 30 years after first being introduced to it, I still laugh.

How do you prioritize self-care in your daily life?

What is self-care? Is it about happiness? It's about health?

Everyone has a different opinion on this. To me, a formulaic idea of self-care is damaging. Sometimes, we think self-care is about meditating for 15 minutes a day, or running for 30 minutes, or eating a bowl of fruit. These are all good things, but if we always associate these ideas to self-care, failure leads to damaging feelings.

Self-care is actually deeper than that. It's about finding purpose. When we are living our purpose, the rest falls into place.

Are there any habits or rituals that have greatly contributed to your productivity?

Ticking off things at the start of the day has been helpful. Big things are a collection of small things done well. George Patton said, “You cannot be disciplined in great things and undisciplined in small things.”

For me, setting aside a timeslot to do the emails every day, setting aside a time to do the calendar, and doing the small things with discipline have been useful. 

In your opinion what is the purpose of life?

It's different for everyone. For some of us, it's about a sport. For some of us, it's about art. For some of us, it's about medicine. The trick is to find our passion that we can use to do something positive in our limited time on this planet. We are all unique human beings, with something different to contribute to our world. 

For me, it's about doing something for our fellow human, to leave this world a better place than we found it.

What is the most important lesson you've learned in your journey so far?

Finding purpose is the single most important thing for all of us. For me, I didn't know what that was for the longest time. I spent many years trying to fill my own cup. That came from not knowing what I was on this planet to do.

Once I found it, life was transformed. It has given me the strength to continue through hardships. Finding purpose is the key.

How do you handle setbacks or failures and what have they taught you?

Setbacks are a learning opportunity. Failures are a teacher. As humanity, it's worthwhile, thinking about how we can reframe failure. Failure is not always a bad thing. It is okay to attempt something and fail, but not so okay to not attempt something for the fear of failure.

Kathryn Schultz has written a book called, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, which explores human error. In this book, for example, she says with regards to failure, "This was the pivotal insight of the Scientific Revolution: that the advancement of knowledge depends on current theories collapsing in the face of new insights and discoveries. In this model of progress, errors do not lead us away from the truth. Instead, they edge us incrementally toward it.”