Sarah Lang had been anxiously waiting for news of Dr Michael Mosley, the popular journalist, presenter and author who went missing in Greece last week. His death was officially announced this morning, and Sarah pays tribute to a man who helped so many people around the world, and who became her friend.
Since Dr Michael Mosley went missing on the small Greek island of Symi last week, I started checking my phone incessantly to see if there was any news. Then on Sunday night, as I was reading a story about the search, a yellow breaking-news banner flashed up saying a body had been found.
I wasn’t surprised, exactly – it had been nearly five days since he’d gone missing in almost 40-degree weather. But I got choked up, because he’d gone from being an interview subject to someone I considered a friend. One with much more life to live and so much more to give. My thoughts are with his wife and the four children he adored.
Michael’s body was found agonisingly close to safety, beside a chain-link fence that separated rocky terrain from a beachside bar. Don’t quote me on any of this, because details are still emerging, but it’s thought that he took a wrong turn on a hike back to where he was staying, then had to navigate rocky, dangerous terrain in intense heat. He must have spotted the sanctuary of the beach bar, and he nearly made it. Reportedly, CCTV footage from the bar shows him descending a rocky hillside, before he disappears from view. Did he fall? Did he faint? Did he sit down to rest? Was it caused by heatstroke? An initial post-mortem report says that his body didn’t show signs of injury, and it’s thought he died of natural causes (perhaps he had a medical event) on the day of his disappearance. Thank goodness he wasn’t suffering for days, wondering where rescuers were.
I’ve asked myself why he was hiking in such intense heat without a phone? My guess is that he either forgot or thought he didn’t need a phone, overestimated what his body could withstand in that heat (he was in good shape, but he was also 67), and perhaps underestimated the difficulty of navigating the terrain. But that’s just my own speculation; we will never really know.
Michael Mosley: Man of The People
Michael was so prolific that I joked that he must have cloned himself to get so much done. He had multiple projects underway at any one time. He was a trained doctor (not a practising one), an award-winning science journalist and columnist, a BBC TV presenter and documentary-maker specialising in science and medicine, a radio broadcaster, an Emmy-nominated executive producer, the co-presenter of live shows that he created and staged with his wife, and the host of hit podcast ‘Just One Thing’, which he recently turned into the book Just One Thing: How Simple Changes Can Improve Your Life. He authored many (I think 15) books, most about diet and health, and one about sleep.
Through all of these mediums – books, TV, podcasting. etc – his gift was translating science to everyday people in a way that could be understood, while also outlining how people could improve their health and lives, step by step – and he never sounded preachy. He’s perhaps best known for popularising a form of intermittent fasting called the 5:2 diet, where you fast for two days and eat healthily for the other five days to kickstart weight loss. Michael was also a human guinea pig in the name of science, from infecting himself with parasites, through to swallowing a tiny camera to capture images inside his gut.
Michael did a few publicity tours in Australia and New Zealand when some of his books were released. He told me in an interview that he didn’t write the books to make loads of money, but because he wanted to reach and help people. He added that the information contained in his books is all online (each diet has a comprehensive website with resources and recipes), but some people simply prefer the physicality of a book.
I interviewed him four times, thrice for North & South magazine, and once for the Listener, and we joked that I was New Zealand’s Michael Mosley correspondent. He was warm and down-to-earth. We met in person twice. Once over lunch with my mum, who had reversed her pre-diabetes by following the advice in his book The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet; Michael had actually reversed his own diabetes that way. While I was interviewing him over lunch, my mum talked a LOT, which was fine except I needed to finish my questions first! I shot her a ‘Mum!’ look, Michael clocked that dynamic and laughed. I had also failed to order enough food for lunch, but he said he wasn’t super hungry and complimented the tofu.
I also interviewed him onstage for an author event. At one point, my mind went blank as to what my follow-up question was, and he quietly noticed that, and started telling a funny story until I got my bearings.
Michael’s work helped my family. His book The Fast 800 (you eat 800 calories a day to kickstart weight loss) helped one of my family members to change their life. And his book The Clever Guts Diet set me on a path to improving my gut health. I recently got a diagnosis of SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), which means too many of the wrong kind of bacteria end up in the small intestine, and which involves symptoms that include bloating, constipation, abdominal discomfort, and excessive wind. Now that I know the problem, it can be treated.
Over the past few years, Michael emailed me a few times, interested in how my mum and I were doing, and said I was welcome to visit him if I was in the U.K. I was struck by the fact that this busy man took the time to do that. But he was just that kind of guy.
The Devastation Of His Death
I knew people would be upset about his disappearance and death, but I didn’t expect how devastated. Yet it totally makes sense: he helped a lot of people, a lot of people cared about him, and he seemed universally beloved. People felt like they knew him. “His manner and warmth shone through and I feel like I know him well, like a lovely cousin,” said a woman who commented on his second-to-last Instagram post.
I’m not sure why I looked at his Instagram, but others also felt the need to, maybe because social media is a place to gather in lieu of a town square? That second-to-last post (posted more recently than the first, pinned post) has over 1300 comments, originally from people desperately hoping he’d be found alive. “Please be ok Dr Mosley, since I heard the shocking news I keep checking the news and even cannot sleep, please be safe, my thoughts are with you and your family, from Perth Australia.” “You feel like a friend, please return safe and well.” “Please can you be OK. You are seriously loved by your fans and the people whose lives you have changed.”
Since the news of his death came through, many more people have commented on that post to pay tribute. “Words can’t express how devastated I am by this news. You were a true inspiration.” “Such a great man, you will be missed, you changed our lives.” “Dr Mosley, I reversed my diabetes because of you. I will be forever grateful for the gift of health you gave me.” “I’m crying for a wonderful man I haven’t met – god bless you.” “I will never forget you, you are everywhere in my house, my bookcase, my kitchen, my phone’s Fast 800 app, my TV recordings and my heart.” “Absolutely devastating. All that have followed you feel like they’ve lost a good pal – so relatable, so kind, a truly wonderful human on every level. Thank you for everything you’ve done, you’ll continue to be an inspiration to many.” Someone else commented that the best tribute we can give him is to use his work to improve our health and lives. I second that.
Michael is gone, but his legacy lives on.