Suleika Jaouad: What almost dying taught me about living
苏蕾卡·卓阿德: 死亡教会我活着的意义
Writer Suleika Jaouad is changing the conversation about what it means to thrive in the wake of illness and life's unexpected interruptions. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
in commencement speeches,
演讲里说的那样,
to enter the real world.
世界的准备。
开始了我第一份工作。
a war correspondent,
一名战地记者,
带到了一个
kind of conflict zone.
and my parents, point-blank,
我和我的父母,
of long-term survival.
可以活下去。
what that prognosis meant.
那诊断书意味着什么。
and the life I'd imagined for myself
my apartment, my independence,
工作,房子,自由,
of chemo, a clinical trial
我接受了临床化疗,
我一直呆着的地方。
that I'd ever get better,
再也不会好了,
医学名词,
of other young cancer patients,
成了我的朋友,
my rolling IV pole as a skateboard.
of becoming a war correspondent,
战地记者的梦想,
of my hospital bed,
I wrote for the New York Times,
纽约时报的一个专栏,
(Applause)
I am cured of my cancer.
而且治好了癌症。
a traumatic experience like this,
这种痛苦的经历后,
how much of an inspiration you are.
你的故事多么鼓舞人心。
the mythical hero's journey,
神秘的危险旅程,
lived to tell the tale,
开始讲述关于自己的传说,
for what you're been through.
变得更厉害、勇敢。
with my experience.
确实有点类似。
exactly who I was
清楚地认识自己,
with 90 minutes of yoga.
I'm grateful for onto a scroll of paper
写下让我感激的50件事,
and send sailing out my window.
从窗户飞出去。
上述的任何事。
how to fold an origami crane.
也不会折纸鹤。
began once the cancer was gone.
是癌症被治好后的时光。
of the survivor we see in movies
而且很危险。
challenges of recovery.
康复过程中真实的挑战。
I am incredibly grateful to be alive,
有活下来的机会,
that this struggle is a privilege
与病魔抗争是
没有的幸运。
and expectation of constant gratitude
对持续感激的期待
意味着什么。
where the work of healing ends.
不意味着康复结束,
I was discharged from the hospital,
had taken a toll on my relationship
into my apartment, it was quiet.
里面是寂静的。
in this moment,
would understand everything,
of my apartment,
since my diagnosis
支撑我的支架,
working tirelessly to achieve one goal:
我只为一个目标努力:
no idea how to live.
怎么继续活下去。
soon stopped coming.
of the sick anymore.
病号的世界了。
further from being well.
感觉痊愈。
a permanent physical toll on my body.
留下了永久的伤疤。
in the middle of the day?
on a regular basis?"
psychological imprints
疾病留下的
for days, sometimes weeks.
每次对我长达数天,有时数周的折磨。
融入这个社会。
of traumatic experiences, like an illness.
of the challenges of reentry,
重新融入这个社会的困难,
I kept reminding myself
并不停提醒自己
like my friend Melissa were not.
病友都没能撑下来。
feeling so sad and lost,
悲伤而失落地醒来,
about getting sick again.
又一次生病。
to fantasize about
and recently single.
像我一样脆弱,
I felt like an impostor,
我觉得自己像个冒名顶替者,
I'd felt at my sickest.
最严重时的清晰感。
has a way of simplifying things,
简化一切其他事物,
to what really matters.
真正重要的事情上。
I vowed that if I survived,
如果活下来了,
一个目标而活。
an adventurous life,
过上有冒险精神,
with no job, no partner, no structure.
没伴侣,没条理。
protocols or discharge instructions
治疗协议或医嘱
full of internet messages
一收件箱的信息,
had read my column,
读到我的专栏,
comments and emails.
评论和邮件回应。
the case, for writers.
来说应该很常见。
而不靠谱的建议,
with things like essential oils.
治好我的癌症。
内衣码数。
in their own different way,
都来自从不同角度
that I was going through.
什么样的痛苦的人们。
佛罗里达的信,
刚接受化疗,
composed largely of emojis.
很多表情贴。
professor in Ohio named Howard,
退休艺术史教授霍华德的信,
debilitating health condition
he was a young man.
on death row in Texas
死囚的来信。
to start off each morning.
做1000个俯卧撑。
I described in one column
专栏里所描述的
to a tiny fluorescent room.
没什么亮光的小房间里。
are different," he wrote to me,
大不相同“,他写道,
lurks in both of our shadows."
潜伏在我们的影子中”。
and months of my recovery,
那孤独的几个月里,
became lifelines,
成了我的生命线,
of so many different backgrounds,
完全不同的人
that's ever happened to you
最坏的事困住,
your remaining days,
你余下的日子,
找办法前进。
some kind of change.
and to get back out into the world.
回到正常的世界。
a real journey --
真正的旅程 --
that everyone thought I should be on,
应该经历的神秘英雄之旅,
kind of journey.
说走就走的旅行。
放进储物间,
借了辆车,
but somewhat smelly friend
但臭烘烘的朋友
embarked on a 15,000-mile road trip
踏上了15000英里的
of those strangers who'd written to me.
写信给我的陌生人。
the retired professor.
退休教授霍华德家过夜。
或不幸时,
心灵的冲动。
to open myself up to uncertainty,
拥抱未知,
of new love, new loss.
从未被治好,
of predicting how long he'd live.
预计自己还能活多久,
from getting married.
走进婚姻的殿堂。
lessons with his wife.
上舞蹈课。
their 50th anniversary.
结婚50周年。
他写道,
in the material realm;
物质世界;
cocktails or conversation.
鸡尾酒或谈话。
when everything else is stripped away."
被除去后剩下的一切“。
Little GQ on death row.
拜访了死囚小GQ。
to pass all that time
生病时在医院的
really, really good at Scrabble,
玩Scrabble文字游戏,
并向我展示,
in solitary confinement,
都被独自关押,
make board games out of paper
用纸做成桌上游戏,
through their meal slots --
发出游戏挑战 --
of the human spirit
的证明。
是佛罗里达,
who'd sent me all those emojis.
很多表情贴的女孩。
(意译:独特的)
curious person I've ever met.
我见过的最活泼好奇的人。
to do next and she said,
她说,
that I've never tasted before
食物,比如章鱼,
虽然我很怕虫子,
产生一丝敬畏,
and so full of plans for the future,
对未来如此期待,
让我意识到的,
and dangerous to have hope
恐惧的阴影里,
I learned on that road trip
学到的最重要的是,
the sick and the well --
that would have killed our grandparents,
祖父母,甚至父母生命的
back and forth between these realms,
生病和健康状态之间转换,
somewhere between the two.
都活在两者中间。
存在的术语。
that since coming home from my road trip,
那次旅行后,
停止希望自己
I'd been pre-diagnosis,
白血病前的那个自己,
and its limitations,
我的身体和它的极限,
窍门应该是:
看成由两部分组成,
beautiful, perfect state of wellness
完美的健康状况
of constant dissatisfaction
不达到目标就总是不满
will have our life interrupted,
有生活被打乱的时候,
of a diagnosis
or trauma that brings us to the floor.
精神崩溃的事,
in the in-between place,
两种状态中间活着的办法,
and mind we currently have.
of a handmade game of Scrabble
Scrabble的心灵手巧,
kind of meaning in the love of family
家庭给予的爱,
翩翩起舞,
lead a teenage girl terrified of bugs
怕虫子的小女孩去露营
做到这一点,
真正的英雄之旅。
to actually be well,
健康的真正目的,
richest, most whole sense.
一切最完整的感觉中活着。
的全部了,谢谢。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suleika Jaouad - Writer, teacher, activistWriter Suleika Jaouad is changing the conversation about what it means to thrive in the wake of illness and life's unexpected interruptions.
Why you should listen
When Suleika Jaouad finally walked out of the hospital -- after countless rounds of chemo, a lifesaving clinical trial and a bone marrow transplant -- she was, according to the doctors, "cured." But as she would soon learn, a cure is not where the work of healing ends; it's where it begins. She set out on a 100-day, 15,000-mile road trip across the country to meet some of the people who had written to her during her time in the hospital. Her extraordinary journey resulted in her debut memoir, Between Two Kingdoms.
Jaouad is an Emmy-winning journalist, author, teacher and activist. Her career aspirations as a foreign correspondent were cut short when, at age 22, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She began writing the acclaimed New York Times column and video series "Life, Interrupted" from the front lines of her hospital bed and has since become a fierce advocate for those living with illness and other forms of adversity.
Jaouad served on Barack Obama's Presidential Cancer Panel, and her advocacy work, public speaking and reporting have brought her everywhere from the United Nations and Capitol Hill to a maximum security prison and a two-room schoolhouse in rural Montana.
Suleika Jaouad | Speaker | TED.com