The Beauty in Breaking

This chapter focuses on two VA Hospital patients. First, Harper recalls Olivia Hernandez, a 57-year-old woman whose medical history and symptoms were relatively unremarkable. She suffered from the emotional effects of stress as well as its physical manifestations, such as increased blood pressure. Harper learned that Olivia’s husband was fighting cancer and the two were full-time caretakers for a granddaughter with autism. Olivia confided in Harper how she was struggling to keep all the interconnected pieces of her life together. Harper offered insight about the power of the mind-body connection: “Stress can lead to heart attack, stress can lead to stroke, stress can lead to infection” (245).

Harper then moves to the story of Abraham Wade, who after his time in the military began to drink heavily, to the point where he lost his job, lost his marriage, and jeopardized his ability to care for his five-year-old son. His alcoholic blackouts were so powerful that he didn’t even know how he got to the hospital. He asked Harper if he could start a detox process through the hospital. Even though this process is an arduous journey, both physically and mentally daunting, Abraham was determined to sober up for the sake of himself and his family. Reflecting on Olivia and Abraham, Harper ruminates on the deliberate choices we must all make to keep our bodies and minds healthy, no matter how desperate or hopeless our circumstances may seem. She notes that surrendering is a natural part of the process: “Both of these patients had let go in their own ways as they moved toward health” (255).