Sickness takes us down, pulls the rug out from under us, disrupts the continuity. It is not pretty and . . . is not limited to the disruption of bodily functions. For all of us, this going down is unavoidable, ranging from the tolerable to the terrifying. Within this downward-facing world are all the small pains and discomforts we rail against, tolerate, bend to, and negotiate with in our daily lives.
— Saki Santorelli, Heal Thy Self