Signs of Life

A young doctor cycles around the world and discovers how societies treat their most vulnerable, in this thought-provoking and witty medical odyssey

In 2010 Stephen Fabes rode away from his career as an emergency doctor in London, on a journey that would see him ride the length of six continents—more than 53,568 miles—for a cycling circumnavigation that took six years. 

Signs of Life is his story of a world of challenges, from Tajik camel spiders to camping on a frozen lake in Mongolia, from coaxing another few miles out of “Ol’ Patchy” (his faithful inner tube), to fascinating interactions with the people of seventy-five countries.  As he rides, he will meet hospitable nomads and curious children, vindictive border guards and gangsters.

Signs of Life is also a story of Stephen re-finding his medical calling.  He recalls his first pronouncement of death as he examines the frozen body of a monk high in the Himalayas, and he finds himself drawn into treating patients at a leprosy clinic and helping refugees at The Jungle in Calais. All the while, he reflects on these societies treat their most vulnerable and draws comparisons with the lost souls he had treated back home in London.  Signs of Life is a luminous, often gripping blend of cycling and true adventure combined with the marvels of medicine and healing.