Zen and the Art of Illness

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Zen and the Art of Illness is a collection of gentle and insightful reflections on single days, sometimes single moments, in a year-long journey that began following her husband’s cancer diagnosis. In it, Ronna invites us to ‘transverse the landscape of life-threatening illness’ ‘neither in fear nor in hope, and yet not without hope.’ Ronna combines the personal and intimate voice of the spouse moving through the days of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, with snapshots, both visual and textual, of moments of stillness or transition. Zen and the Art of Illness offers remarkable insights into times when ‘life and death were a possibility, ’ when memory making, as a conscious practice, helped provide a life-line into the future. Rarely do we get the opportunity to view philosophy made real through practice, but those familiar with Ronna’s teaching on hope will see her match the talk of hope with the walk in hope, and find inspiration in her micro-stories of hope, love, and surrender to the moment.

Dr. Jaklin Eliott, Associate Professor, Counselling and Psychotherapy,

School of Public Health, University of Adelaide