The Alchemy of Illness

Illness is a universal experience. There is no privilege that can make us immune to its touch. We are taught to assume health, and to view illnesses as a temporary breakdowns in the well-oiled machinery of the body. But illness has its own geography, its own laws and commandments.

At a time when the attention of the whole nation is focused on health care, Kat Duff inquiries into the nature and function of illness itself. Duff, a counselor in private practice in Taos, New Mexico, wrote this book out of her experience with chronic fatigue syndrome, but what she has to say is applicable to every illness and every one of us.

For those who are sick, this book offers solace and recognition. For caretakers, it offers inspiration and compassion. Finally, this fresh perspective on healing reveals how every illness is a crucible that tries our mettle, tests our limits, and provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to integrate its lesson into our lives. “The Alchemy of Illness is pure heart-talk, a path back to the soul, an honoring of all that we are. Kat Duff is a very wise woman, and her incandescent book is sheer poetry.” –Larry Dossey, M.D. “Illness becomes numinous in Kat Duff’s strong telling. With words etched in pain and beauty she carries us into a passion play as potent as it is strangely healing. Quite simply, this is a masterpiece.” –Jean Houston “A lovely book, beautifully written, full of insight, and an excellent correction of our society’s usual soulless way of dealing with illness. If medical schools would listen to the message, we’d have a revolution in health care.” –Thomas Moore

Author Biography

Kat Duff, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a writer, essayist, and author of both The Alchemy of Illness (1993) and The Secret Life of Sleep (2014). She received her BA from Hampshire College and her MA in counseling and education from Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She resides in New Mexico where she works as a mental health counselor and child forensic interviewer.