Bestselling, Christy Hall of Fame, and Carol and INSPY Award–winning author Cathy Gohlke writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons, speaking of world and life events through the lens of history. She champions the battle against oppression, celebrating the freedom found in Christ. Cathy has worked as a school librarian, drama director, and director of children’s and education ministries. When not traveling to historic sites for research, she and her husband, Dan, divide their time between northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and grandchildren. Visit her website at cathygohlke.com and find her on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks and BookBub at @CathyGohlke. Cathy welcomes invitations to virtual book club meetings through the Connect page of her website.
FF: Can you tell us more about the true story that inspired this book? What did the writing process look like?
Until the discovery and purification of insulin, diabetes, known as the wasting disease, was a death sentence. Dr. Frederick Banting, a Canadian surgeon working long and diligently with medical student Charles Best at the University of Toronto under Dr. Macleod, first isolated the hormone insulin in 1921. But there were problems: the insulin wasn’t pure, it wasn’t stable, they had no idea of the correct dosage or how that differed from person to person, and they had no way to make it in quantity or commercially available. Children continued to die. James Collip joined the team and helped to purify the pancreatic extract.
In 1922, Dr. Banting and others at the Toronto General Hospital rushed the purified extract to a ward of mostly comatose children—children dying from diabetic keto-acidosis. Daring to hope, they rapidly injected the children with the new and purified extract of insulin. By the time they injected the last child, the first child to be injected opened their eyes. One by one the children woke from their comas.
Each time I read of that scene I think, It must have been like watching a resurrection! Death hovered menacingly at the door, but insulin threw it wide open, and life walked in.
Dr. Frederick Banting, Dr. James Collip, and Charles Best sold the patent for insulin to the University of Toronto for $1.00. Dr. Banting declared, “Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.”
The selfless act of these men for the good of others inspired me.
Much research was required before and during the writing of this book—the aftermath of the Great War; the all-too-prevalent and deadly tuberculosis; the Spanish flu; the surge in diabetes, its radical treatments and the desperate race for a cure; the absolute fascination with Egyptology and the discovery of King Tut’s tomb; criminal elements of the underworld associated with Prohibition. Writing of life and death issues amid this turbulent and conflicted time in our country felt like a race against time for me—both fascinating and urgent.
FF: What first drew you to write about the discovery of insulin?
My eight-year-old granddaughter developed type 1 diabetes after a bout with Covid and a viral infection. There is no known family member who had type 1 diabetes. I was fascinated to learn that environmental factors, such as viral infections, can trigger the disease and that after the Spanish flu, as well as after Covid, there was a rise in diabetes in the population.
It is my granddaughter’s heroic journey along with that of her parents and the miraculous, lifesaving discovery of insulin that inspired this story.
FF: What themes do you focus on in this book?
Every Given Day embraces love of family, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, endurance, steadfastness, faith, trust, and ultimately the surrender of our will and of those we love to our Heavenly Father.
FF: What will fans of historical fiction love about this story?
Fans of historical fiction will love the period detail in this story. As the book begins, people were ready to cast the dark years of the war and the Spanish flu behind them. The early 1920s marked an era of optimism, great changes in fashion and the role of women, as well as fascination with Egyptology and the thrilling discovery of King Tut’s tomb.
It was the era of Prohibition in the US, including bootlegging and rum-running that led to violence, a worrisome amount of police and political corruption and the spreading of gangs. Medical research escalated—including the race for cures for diabetes and tuberculosis. The 1920s were an age of discovery, a fascinating time when our country and the world at large changed swiftly and dramatically.
FF: How does faith influence the characters?
Gwen, the main character, is in desperate need of faith to face her own losses and to help her nephew, Alistair, through his. Alistair is open to receiving faith shared by those closest to him but Gwen resists, struggling in the belief that the sheer force of her own will can overcome all odds. It is in the ultimate surrender of their will to God and in trusting Him with their own lives and the lives of those they love most that they each find peace.
FF: What do you hope your audience learns from Every Given Day?
I hope readers find nuggets of truth and inspiration in this story. I hope Gwen and Alistair’s journey provides a better understanding of type 1 diabetes and those who live with this disease. I hope the story inspires love of family and friends through the best and worst of times. Most of all, I pray that the story draws readers closer to our Heavenly Father, and that each reader realizes how very much He loves them.
