I would like to thank New World Library for contacting me and providing a copy of The Pain Companion by Sarah Anne Shockley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Pain Companion: Everyday Wisdom for Living With and Moving Beyond Chronic Pain

Author: Sarah Anne Shockley

Genre: Health and wellness

Published: June 12, 2018 (New World Library)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When a person experiences chronic pain, not only do they want the pain to go away, but they want someone to understand what they’re going through. One person who can identify with chronic pain sufferers is Sarah Anne Shockley. In 2007, Shockley developed a painful condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), a collapse of the space between the clavicles (collarbones) and first ribs. Her case was determined to be unusually severe with a poor prognosis; she would likely be in intense pain for a long time.

Living in constant, severe pain with a restricted lifestyle, Sarah felt isolated and alone. After about five years of suffering debilitating nerve pain, she realized that stoicism could only help so much, and it wasn’t helping her any longer. At this time, she started developing the approaches she presents in The Pain Companion.

This book is quite a bit different from other books on pain out there. It focuses on living with chronic pain and pain relief from a compassionate, non-medical perspective. Yet it does not eschew the necessity in some patients for traditional approaches to pain, such as physical therapy, surgery, or pain medications. Instead of specific protocols or treatments, The Pain Companion offers ways by which a person suffering from chronic pain can reduce emotional, mental, and physical stress. The book is divided into four parts.

Part One: Pain Moves In

This brief section of the book brings to light the different ways physical suffering can affect individual lives. It presents a discussion of how pain can become an all-encompassing presence in one’s life.

”Pain, therefore, rules our experience. It dictates how we can and can’t use our bodies. We do only as much as it allows us to do. We sleep only as much as it allows us to sleep. When it has something to say, we are its captive audience.”

The Pain Companion, Page 12

Part Two: The Emotional Life Of Chronic Pain

As a chronic pain sufferer, this was my favorite part of the book. Individuals with chronic pain can experience a vast array of emotions and emotional responses as a result of the intensity of their chronic pain. Some of these emotions that are discussed in the book include grief, sadness, loss, shame, resentment, failure, isolation, loneliness, and powerlessness.

While reading this section, I thought, “How did this woman take my brain and put it on paper?” I identified the most with the chapter on grief and shame. I found myself nodding along as I read the chapters on physical and emotional exhaustion as well as sadness and loss. When I finished reading this section, I felt validated.

Each chapter is short, sweet, and to the point. There is no exposition on the why’s and ifs. This section simply states what you may feel during the experience of chronic pain, with practical ideas on how to ease and manage those feelings.

Part Three: Meditative Approaches to Physical Pain

In this section, there are eleven meditative exercises developed by the author. They are intended to be used to help the individual find a path to physical relief. These range from breathing exercises to art therapy to writing a letter to your pain.

At first, some of these approaches may seem hokey. But I encourage you to give them a chance. Stop and think about it, and you’ll see that these exercises actually make sense. Some of them are counterintuitive and you may feel yourself resisting them initially, but those are actually the ones I found most enlightening and worked really well for me. (Maybe because I think a lot.) For example, I first read the exercise in chapter 28 (I won’t spoil it) and felt ridiculous. But then I did it…and almost had some therapeutic crying!

Part Four: When Pain Is the Teacher

Despite how we may feel about pain, it is possible to learn from it. In this section, Sarah explains what she has learned from pain, as well as how a person with chronic pain can live life “with more grace, ease, and wisdom.” Pain doesn’t need to be treated as an adversary, as much as we may desire to give it a swift kick and let the door hit it on the way out. Pain means that your body is trying to get your attention. If we listen to it and communicate with it, we may realize that pain has a positive purpose in our lives.

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I wholeheartedly recommend The Pain Companion to anyone experiencing chronic pain. It is a phenomenal tool for anyone looking for ways to help ease the pain. It offers natural and holistic approaches that are meant to be combined with ongoing medical or therapeutic healing programs. And yes, this can certainly include pain medications. It does not promise a cure. It simply offers what many individuals with chronic pain are looking for: compassion and support from someone who knows what it’s like to be on the inside of chronic pain.

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To learn more about this book, visit the website!