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Sarah Thompson's avatar

I listened to an interview with Esther Perel a couple years ago; I think it's this one: https://tim.blog/2017/05/21/esther-perel/ in which she talks about growing up in the Jewish neighborhoods in Belgium after WWII, and how they were people who had only survived, and continued to live as if the war was ongoing, and others who chose to really live, to be fully present, and to take the risks of joy and love that had been so brutally shattered. It's an important story.

When the doctors told me I was in full remission (both times), I did not use the term "survivor" and I did not stay in the cancer "community." It felt to me then, as it does now, like a pharma-medico-fueled industry to keep people sick and dependent even as their bodies were recovered. I feel a huge responsibility right now to stand up with my face towards to sun and say, "However many times you try to tear it down, we will build it back up."

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Jen Downey's avatar

What an excellent response. Thank you for speaking to the quiet ripping cruelty that transpired.

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