The Princess of Pain
A Fable for Trauma Victims and Compassionate Witnesses
Paperback
"The Princess of Pain... A Very Personal Journey" (My blog about the writing of this fable.)
"I am fortunate not to be a chronic pain sufferer, but I am acquainted with individuals -- as friends or patients -- who have to deal with chronic pain. This book is validation for them, and it provides some insight (non-sufferers could never truly know what it's like) to those of us who watch from the sidelines. It's a short read, but very creative and determined. I have bought extra copies to give to people in my circle."
--Elizabeth, Family Nurse Practitioner.
"Creating meaning is about the most human act we can engage in. At our best, we do this by listening and bearing witness. Sharing this kernel of wisdom with other sufferers, along with their friends, families, and yes, medical providers, is what this book is about."--from the introduction by Risa Denenberg, co-founder of Headmistress Press
In Carolyn Gage’s The Princess of Pain we go on a moving journey of discovery with a woman tortured by constant pain. She takes us along in her wheelchair, seeking peace, answers, and an end to her pain, as she visits goddesses from around the world. The goddesses, lusciously illustrated by Sudie Rakusin and richly described by Gage, provide the princess with many beautiful and terrifying truths. The Princess of Pain delves deep into myth and story in gorgeous detail, leading the reader and the princess to recognize our incredible purpose, showing us how to name it, and to take into our hands the mystery of ourselves and our universe in acceptance.
— Jen Rouse, author of Cake
"In The Princess of Pain, Gage once again lures us past our threshold of comfort as we journey through the interior landscape of a woman suffering with irremediable pain. Under the magic of Gage's crystalline prose and Sudie Rakusin's resonant illustrations, any residue impulses to blame or otherwise distance ourselves from human suffering are exposed as base and cruel when set beside the Princess' heroic, clear-eyed refusal of false palliatives."--Patricia Morgne Cramer, co-editor VirginiaWoolf: Lesbian Readings
"The Princess of Pain is deceptively simple and universally human. Gage's story engages the heart and mind, pulling the reader forward with hope and desire. Rakusin's illustrations absorb the reader--this is not a story you merely dip a toe in; it is full-bodied, immersive. Part-metaphor, part-hero's journey, it remains entirely original..."- Hilary Brown author of When She Woke She Was an Open Field.
"Once upon a time...there was a creatively brilliant writer who knew about Pain. She knew how those in pain search for relief, asking those deities closest to her heart for guidance. And she knows how often those deities shout, "What??? Are you Nuts??" How else can I describe this fairy tale for our time. Carolyn Gage draws deep to touch upon the visions of writers like the legendary Jeanette Winterson, yet discovers a view that is hers alone. I gifted this slim volume to a friend who has been in pain for a very long time, and my friend said simply, "Yes. Yes." And even I, who blessedly has not felt this kind of pain, even I felt despair, joy, and even closure upon reading this tale. It is simply brilliant."--MaryAnn Shank
From the Author:
Writing this book was part of a very personal journey I was on, as a woman living with serious disability at the time, and as a friend to a woman who was living with severe and chronic pain. Here is a link to my blog about that story.
Writing this book was part of a very personal journey I was on, as a woman living with serious disability at the time, and as a friend to a woman who was living with severe and chronic pain. Here is a link to my blog about that story.