Die Kunst Stillzusitzen (German Edition) (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This beautiful book is the tale of the odyssey undergone by the author as he attempts to rid himself of severe pain. Through a deep exploration of his own individual experience and thoughts, he expresses universal dilemmas. Not too much happens outwardly in this book. The author has a bunch of medical tests, orders a self-help book, goes kayaking and takes some meditation classes. Throughout the book we live inside his mind. Like anyone who becomes ill he looks for causes and experiences profound self-doubt. He encounters the “grand industrial enterprise” of the health care system and perfectly describes its impersonality and cruelty. He experiences how the health care system sees our bodies as something to be serviced and how our acceptance of that concept affects the way we think when we become ill. With great courage, he continues to explore and critically evaluate his own assumptions and the assumptions of the physicians who are treating him. He eventually rejects the surgery that is presented as his only alternative and begins to explore other ways of handling his pain. As the odyssey continues, he is logical, pragmatic and skeptical. He learns meditation and has spiritual experiences which go beyond words and logic, and yet he describes them logically using words. I read this book on a friend's recommendation after I mentioned that I had been feeling off-colour for a few months. Various doctors hadn't managed to make me feel any better and I was not in a good space.I loved it! The author has bared a little more than just his soul in this sometimes light-hearted, sometimes poignant account of his attempts to get to the 'bottom' (sorry!) of a debilitating pain in his pelvis. He managed to keep my attention constantly and avoided self-indulgence as he worked through really personal issues.I loved this book! I very rarely read a book twice - this one will be an exception to my rule!
What do You think about Die Kunst Stillzusitzen (German Edition) (2012)?
Engaging and idiosyncratic: better on scepticism than health or healing, fortunately...
—nickey
i found thisa difficult book as its outside my usual genre but it still was worthwhile
—britt
I did not enjoy this book, or his writing style.
—raka
Found it hard going and was disappointed.
—hunt1289
