Life Interrupted is the heartbreaking expression of enduring the pain, diagnosis, process and medical responses to endometriosis.
The courageousness of D.L. Heather is charted throughout the pages, pouring out her frustrations, her desires and her response to chronic pain and introspection.
like faded words
that sit on a sun-drenched
crinkled piece of paper
she is distant
tired of living
in a body that’s against her
(D.L. Heather)
One can’t help but be moved by the suffering that Heather evokes throughout. The struggle of so many women in our society and the often muted distress that is caused by this debilitating ailment. It is no longer a challenging process to find someone struggling with endometriosis and the difficulties that they have in the diagnosis and the treatment as a result.
Heather’s writing is largely free verse, perhaps expressing that deep set feeling of drifting through the medical system and the feelings of a loss of structure and control in the moment of most need.
Standing out is the introduction where Heather explains her journey in saddening prose. The nurse, on one of her many visits to the hospital, asks about the level of pain she is experiencing, to which Heather responds 10/10. The nurse then says “I don’t think you understand the rating system”. Such misalignment between the medical system and the pain suffered by those with endometriosis is symptomatic of so many women.
eventually the begrudgingly examine her
one of them sighs while scanning her chart
the other looks at her
like she’s just another number
(D.L. Heather)
In Life Interrupted we, as readers, are reminded of the importance of understanding others, and recognising the pain they may be going through. Through her struggle, Heather has found the strength to write so vividly and beautifully, and through her pain, she has found the courage to share her most intimate aspects with the world. It truly has the ability to change perspectives, and share understanding.
As she writes in the book, this is a homage to ‘endo warriors’ like her. Kia kaha. Be strong.
Reviewer: Chris Reed
Under the Press
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