02 October 2014

...illness changes how one is in the world. Moreover, the world of the ill person changes; it transforms into a different landscape, filled with obstacles. Distances increase. It becomes uncanny. The world of the sick belongs to a different universe from that of the healthy, and the interaction between them is clunky, difficult, abrasive. ... The geography of my world is no longer a shared one. It belongs to me alone, and separates me from the people I walk with. The healthy ones who don't even notice they are healthy.

Havi Carel

5 comments:

mm said...

Such a perceptive passage. The penultimate sentence in particular resonates.

I followed the link back to the description of Havi Carel's book. It's going on my list. Thank you for posting this.

am said...

Those words are so true. Thank you for the link to Havi Carel's book. Our public library didn't have a copy, and so I ordered a copy from our local independent book store.

Ms. Moon said...

Completely true. Completely.

beth coyote said...

Indeed. Beautiful.

Ellena said...

I replaced illness with old age and again all sounded true.
Yes, not the same, but..