Karen Duffy > Quotes

“Adversity can create and opportunity for self-discovery. When you are faced with an on-going medical catastrophe, it forces you to take notice of the little things that you may have overlooked when you were dazzled with good health. You recognize that the little moments are not so little. The appreciation of accumulated small little moments can create a happier life.”
― Karen Duffy, Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain without Turning into One

“Reading is a pathway to the essence of who you are.”
― Karen Duffy, Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain without Turning into One

“It's a mistake to do nothing just because you can only do a little.”
― Karen Duffy

“Happiness is the best cosmetic."---Model Patient”
― Karen Duffy

“In the extra innings phase, you can learn from your life and live with vigor and generosity and gratitude. There is the belief that when you lose one sense, the other senses make up for it and become sharper. . . Maybe in extra innings, we discover new skills, such as patience and resilience, even as we accept that what we lost won't come back.”
― Karen Duffy, Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain without Turning into One

“Flaneur is the French word for walker, or saunterer. A flaneur is someone who walks as self-expression and exploration. For the flaneur, it is not about getting from point A to point B, or about getting into shape. The act of walking is its own reward. A flaneur walks the City in order to experience it, to fully participate through observation and peregrination.”
― Karen Duffy, Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain without Turning into One

“As the illness attempts to diminish you, destroy you, or distract you, you've got to rely on your sense of style to help you to divert it, to defeat it and transcend it . . . . "illness style." A good synonym might be "strategy" except the word is too cold to describe something that's about being as alive and vibrant as possible.”
― Karen Duffy, Model Patient: My Life As an Incurable Wise-Ass – A Hilarious Memoir About Surviving Rare Sarcoidosis with Wit and Resilience