In the midst of an illness, treatment, or hospitalization that is a descent into the underworld, we may — like Psyche — find unexpected inner sources of courage, strength, and wisdom just when we need them. Qualities that are found, lessons that are taken to heart, shifts in attitude or changes that are made through surviving a life-threatening illness then reverberate through the whole of a person's life.
— Jean Shinoda Bolen, Close to the Bone