Gillian Hick – the Dublin-born vet who lives in Co Wicklow with her husband and three teenage children – has just launched her third book, Vet on a Mission. It has been 20 action-packed years since Gillian began practicing as a mixed animal vet. Despite coming from a petless home and with zero knowledge of the veterinary profession, Gililan persisted towards her dream job, repeating her leaving cert exams three times before securing her place at UCD.
“I had never even seen a cow, or had a pet until I was about 16,” says Gillian. “I always knew I wanted to work with animal, though. I thought I wanted to work in a mixed animal environment, but the reality of having kids and a mixed animal practice isn’t very practical.”
Rethinking her career in 2004, Gillian repurposed the eight by eight foot utility room at her home in Wicklow as a clinic for her four-legged clients, and with the encouragement of neighbour and close friend John Armstrong, established her new and slightly more spacious practice. “Without John, the practice would probably still be running from my utility room!” she laughs.
Vet On a Mission, by Gillian Hick.
Her career as an author also came as something as a surprise, after Gillian started to unwind by scribbling down the narratives of her day during her lunch breaks.
“It is great fun to write about the unique characters I meet – both animals and people. I end up with loads of stories. Friends always said: ‘You should put them together in a book,’ so it went from there and O’Brien’s Press seem to love my disconnected spiels,” she explains.
Eight years later, Gillian has just published the third of her autobiographical reads. All of her characters are real, and the book is the perfect escape from life’s load for a while.
As for advice from this high achiever, Gillian says: “You don’t have to sell yourself to anyone. Be you and enjoy what you do. When you want to do something – be it veterinary or writing – you can do it. Sit down and write for yourself, like nobody is ever going to read it. Then, of course, tweak it.”
However, she advises: “Don’t let it be your everything. Find balance and be passionate about more than one thing. Otherwise you will burn yourself out.” CL
This publication in also available to download as an ebook. See more of the vet’s narratives on http://www.obrien.ie/gillian-hick.
Gillian Hick – the Dublin-born vet who lives in Co Wicklow with her husband and three teenage children – has just launched her third book, Vet on a Mission. It has been 20 action-packed years since Gillian began practicing as a mixed animal vet. Despite coming from a petless home and with zero knowledge of the veterinary profession, Gililan persisted towards her dream job, repeating her leaving cert exams three times before securing her place at UCD.
“I had never even seen a cow, or had a pet until I was about 16,” says Gillian. “I always knew I wanted to work with animal, though. I thought I wanted to work in a mixed animal environment, but the reality of having kids and a mixed animal practice isn’t very practical.”
Rethinking her career in 2004, Gillian repurposed the eight by eight foot utility room at her home in Wicklow as a clinic for her four-legged clients, and with the encouragement of neighbour and close friend John Armstrong, established her new and slightly more spacious practice. “Without John, the practice would probably still be running from my utility room!” she laughs.
Vet On a Mission, by Gillian Hick.
Her career as an author also came as something as a surprise, after Gillian started to unwind by scribbling down the narratives of her day during her lunch breaks.
“It is great fun to write about the unique characters I meet – both animals and people. I end up with loads of stories. Friends always said: ‘You should put them together in a book,’ so it went from there and O’Brien’s Press seem to love my disconnected spiels,” she explains.
Eight years later, Gillian has just published the third of her autobiographical reads. All of her characters are real, and the book is the perfect escape from life’s load for a while.
As for advice from this high achiever, Gillian says: “You don’t have to sell yourself to anyone. Be you and enjoy what you do. When you want to do something – be it veterinary or writing – you can do it. Sit down and write for yourself, like nobody is ever going to read it. Then, of course, tweak it.”
However, she advises: “Don’t let it be your everything. Find balance and be passionate about more than one thing. Otherwise you will burn yourself out.” CL
This publication in also available to download as an ebook. See more of the vet’s narratives on http://www.obrien.ie/gillian-hick.
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