For a long time, comedian Dai Henwood never told anyone he had incurable cancer. He was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in April 2020, during lockdown, and told a small group of friends via WhatsApp. Turns out the large tumour found had spread to his liver and beyond. In early 2023, he went public via a TV interview with his friend, comedy writer and actor Jaquie Brown. The Life of Dai (HarperCollins), written with Brown, came out of interviews done between chemo sessions that year. Unsurprisingly, it’s anything but linear, Dai-gressive even. Split into three sections called Comedy, Love and Peace, it’s half memoir, half spiritual search-cum-life advice for those going through cancer diagnosis and treatment. It begins with his early life and influences, like Monty Python, Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams. He was a comedy geek. There is his father, the teacher-turned-toxicologist-turned-actor, his mother the judge who underwrote his early shows. Despite the topic, the tone is generally light, honest, loving, in his familiar style. He dotes on his wife, his children, his friends. Loves rugby league. The book doesn’t shy from details of the “horrendous, life-saving poison” that is chemotherapy, the surgeries, his fear and anger and acceptance. “I’ve made the conscious decision to live now.”
Charles III: The Inside Story (Macmillan) is not a full-life bio, its author Robert Hardman notes. It’s a contemporary portrait and “ringside account” of what happens when you take over from the most famous monarch – and probably person – in the world. Hardman, a royalty specialist, had interviewed and spoken to Charles many times when he was Prince of Wales. “Impressive but decidedly pro-establishment,” said the Washington Post. Revelations include that the Queen left sealed letters for Charles, that she was furious that Harry and Meghan called their daughter Lilibet, and the palace was less worried about Harry’s biography Spare and more about a possible sequel. The Times said: “Here is as accurate a portrayal of the King as we’re likely to get: a kind-hearted, deeply decent, highly indulged septuagenarian with a throaty laugh.”
