Taj Taher

Honors 222 C
13 May 2015
Seminar 7 Thought Piece
Upon reading Reynolds Prices journey to becoming the master of his pain, there was a
certain scene from Lawrence of Arabia that popped into my mind. In it, Lawrence extinguishes a
match with his fingers, to which a startled observer inquires as to whether it hurt and what his
trick is. Lawrence affirms there was pain, but that The trick, William Potter, is not minding that
it hurts. Again, we come to the conclusion that pain is created by the mind; that does not make
the experience any less real, a misconception on the patients or providers parts that may prevent
proper healing. Indeed, the most moving portion of Prices tale was not the news that his cancer
had gone into remission, but of the way he came to terms with his pain and gained control over
it. Throughout his story, the pain was characterized as a foreign affliction over which he had no
means of defense. He was at its mercy. However, as he weaned himself off the opiates, threw
himself into his work, and engaged in peace of mind activities, he was able to internalize the pain
and stifle its presence. Getting this idea across to chronic pain patients is, in my mind, the most
important piece of their treatment plan. Making them realize that they are not a helpless victim to
their pain, that no matter how entrenched in despair they are, the light of hope glimmering at the
top of that pit can be reached as long as they are willing to climb the ladder.
As moving as Prices story is, however, it only serves to further emphasize the chasm that
exists between a patients experience of pain and a providers observance of that pain. A Whole
New Life is incredible for the way it characterizes chronic pain not through the cool lens of
academia as we have read thus far, but as a highly personal affliction of the soul. However, even
then there are limitations. No matter how articulate Price is, no matter how many fanciful ways
he approaches describing to his pain, the reader can only ever empathize with him, never
sympathize. There is absolutely no way to simulate Prices exact experience. Sympathy is
impossible, not least for the reader that has never experienced chronic pain but even for readers

that may have even had the exact diagnosis and series of experiences that Price had: their pain
and his pain can never be equated.
This fact should not be taken as disheartening. Price has written that this memoir was for
himself as much as it was for the reader, and as such the book has discrete purposes for each. For
Price, it was a way to come to terms, make sense, and make meaning out of his experience. For
the reader, it was not to understand Prices pain, but to understand the context and consequences
of that pain. Prices story is an inspiration to readers to be more vigilant in their empathy towards
chronic pain patients. Our inability to sympathize does not give us the right to disregard or
marginalize the experience of another: it demands that we do everything in our power to ensure
the victim knows their experience is real. Price is correct in stating that his battle was one that he
had to fight alone, but that does not mean that we cannot lend the support he needs to do so. If
Price emphasizes anything, it is just how integral people were in shaping his recovery. Whether it
was the physical support of a friend living with him for a year tending to his needs, or simply a
few kind words from a fellow writer, it is evident that people can make a difference in the life of
a chronic pain patient without having to understand the pain itself.
And on that note, I will touch upon perhaps the most horrific part of Prices tale.
Throughout, he characterizes many physicians as distant or unfeeling, even describing one as
simply the frozen oncologist in lieu of ever using his name. The passage beginning at the
bottom of 144 is one that I hope will haunt me throughout my life as I pursue a career in
medicine, because it is precisely the kind of physician that I never want to be and that I would
hope no physician ever would be. It is a sad reality that the people responsible for Prices
recovery were perhaps as culpable for his suffering as his cancer.