I’ve been reading Sarah Polley’s RUN TOWARDS THE DANGER. The title essay feels like it was written for people, who, like me, have experienced a traumatic injury.
IN RUN TOWARDS THE DANGER, Polley, who is Canadian, travels to America to consult with a doctor about a concussion which has lingered for four years. He tells her—
“You froze when this happened. It’s a way of manifesting anxiety.” He looks me right in the eye and he leans in close, as though he doesn’t already have every molecule of my attention. He says, “If you remember only one thing from this meeting, remember this: run towards the danger.”
I should now view my symptoms, he says, not as something to be avoided but as “opportunities” to increase my threshold of tolerance. I must learn how to run into the discomfort instead of away from it.”
You froze when this happened— that’s been my last four and a half years. Paralyzed due to my injury, due to anxiety. Furious that my life got upended…However, I have to let all that go. It’s unhealthy.
If you remember only one thing…run towards the danger— That’s where I’m headed. Towards everything that terrifies me. It’s exciting.
There is so much more in that essay and in Polley’s collection, which I highly recommend for anyone who has ever felt trapped (Polley was a child star and wow, it sounds just as hideous as you’d imagine) or anxious (hello, 2023) or had a difficult pregnancy or minimized their sexual assault or loves Canadians (lots of LOL anecdotes about Canadians v. Americans). I’m looking forward to her adaptation of WOMEN TALKING, which I plan to see this weekend.
What excites you? Books, music, performances, walks? Would love to read in the comments.