Brave Cuts
A Heart Surgeon’s Journey through Purpose, Pain, Conviction, and Healing
by Sanjiv K. Gandhi

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Dr. Sanjiv K. Gandhi spent decades working inside operating rooms where children’s lives literally hung in the balance. In this brave, unflinching memoir, he opens up about the scalpel-edge decisions that defined his career as a pediatric cardiac surgeon, the personal losses that transformed his path, and the convictions that pulled him from the surgical suites into the political spotlight, only to be cast into the darkness again. From his childhood in small-town Nova Scotia as the son of immigrant physicians to the operating rooms of North America, Africa, and beyond, Gandhi takes readers inside a life shaped by resilience, precision, and purpose. Along the way, he shares extraordinary stories of patients whose courage taught him as much as any mentor and of personal losses that reshaped how he defined success, fatherhood, and compassion. Interwoven throughout are recipes that honour his family, reminding us that food, like surgery, is an act of love. But this is more than a surgeon’s memoir. It is also a searing critique of the systems meant to safeguard public health. With candor and urgency, Gandhi challenges us to reconsider how we measure success, how we value care, and how we can make medicine more humane. Deeply personal and universally resonant, Brave Cuts blends humanity, humility, and honesty in a story that’s as much about the courage to challenge entrenched systems as it is about saving lives. This is a portrait of a man who has never stopped fighting—for patients, for justice, and for a better vision of society.

www.bravecuts.com

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Trained at McGill University, Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi went on to complete residencies, research, and fellowships at Saint Louis University, Washington University in Saint Louis, the University of Pittsburgh, and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Most recently, he worked as a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of British Columbia. He served as head of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at BC Children’s Hospital from 2010 to 2023. Beyond the operating room, Dr. Gandhi is a passionate advocate for healthcare reform in British Columbia. He champions universal access to family doctors as the cornerstone of a sustainable healthcare system and speaks out on the deep connections between health, climate, housing, and economic stability. His work reflects a lifelong belief that medicine is about more than saving lives; it’s about shaping a society where everyone has the chance to thrive. A devoted “dog dad,” Dr. Gandhi is also the father of three young adults and an avid outdoor enthusiast.

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Sanjiv K. Gandhi

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