I have seen Suleika's story before, but something about this interview made me weep over and over during it. Maybe it is because I am seeing it through my own lens of having recently faced my own mortality numerous times. Last July, I survived a heart attack, brought on my Long Covid. I have been suffering from blood pressure that goes from normal, to up in the 200's for four years as a result of Covid and sodium levels that crash too low. I have been the the ED at least 60 times in an ambulance in four years.I guess my heart finally got tired. Then, this past December, I was exposed to Covid again and it caused me to have a second heart attack, Myocarditis, Pericarditis, Covid pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia and dangerous sodium and wbc levels. Whenever I have blood pressure spikes, it always causes heart attack symptoms(except the summer I had a TIA), but just like Suleika, when I had the two actual heart attacks, I just knew this time was different. My daughter had a double mastectomy when she was 36 and I know that fear that the cancer could always come back. The truth is that we are all on borrowed time:just some of us get to face that fact sooner than later. So I don't have a bucket list, but I relish sitting in a sun spot on a cold Winter's day with a mug of steaming tea. I cherish my pets and have made plans for them if I die the next time my heart decideds it's tired. I tell everyone I love, how I feel. Covid had me in the hospital then in bed for a month, but I am going to relish every day that God gives me to be upright and on this side of the dirt. God bless you and John and thank you Rich, for yet another amazing podcast interview.
Oh dear one. Thank you for sharing your story. My body has never been the same since my two rounds of chemotherapy. We truly are on borrowed time and these days I find joy in the simplest of things. Thank you for doing life with us. May God shine His abundant favor on us all. 💖🙏🏼
I’m a cancer survivor and currently living with brain meningiomas. Will live with these for the rest of my life. I so connected with this interview. She is very articulate, thoughtful and demonstrates a grace that shows hope and living like it is your first day is how I feel. So grateful and live with joy for everyday. There is no rule that everyone is intended to live until old age. We are arrogant to expect it
I saw the American Symphony. I was so very touched by it and am now a huge fan of Suleika and John. I can’t wait to listen to the podcast. They are an incredible couple. She is amazing.
This was outstanding ❣️ I traveled this route but not nearly as intense. She is so poised and articulate. My experience with the survivors groups was that in general they still approached it with an attack mindset instead of moving on in peace. What a brave beautiful soul. ✨
Wow! So brave, so honest. Triggered my own trauma from having faced 2 cancer journeys. The trauma and mental health issues don’t get talked about like this. I applaud her for her ability to share these painful struggles. No rosy lens here. Just the truth. Chemo and surgery were very difficult and isolating and painful snd lonely for me. Despite the atmosphere of support I had, rarely did anyone offer to sit with me for hours to accompany me through the moment-to-moment suffering. I suffered alone. I felt the pressure to wear the face of a warrior but i felt destroyed. It tore down my sense of self and left me searching for a way to survive each day. I appreciate so much this honest discussion of illness even though her diagnosis and impact were different than mine. There are some universal shared truths. I admire her so much. Each day is a new day to be appreciated.
I adore her. What a lovely conversation. I have read her book Between Two Kingdoms, and it inspired me to be stronger and to tap into my creativity. ❤❤❤❤❤ Ms Jaouad, I have listened to this interview twice now. One of your messages will change my life and that of many others. The space between- enduring and then thriving in that space to react the best way possible- doing that will change my life, many lives, and surely, in time, the world. Thank you for sharing your brilliant mind.
Telling your story is so helpful to others that are chronically ill! I've been the Nurse providing care and the chronically ill patient! What your body allows you to do isn't always what you want. Such a big lesson to let your body lead and call the shots instead of trying to fight with what you want to do and what you can actually physically accomplish!
Thanks for that comment. I agree that our training often tells us to fight the fatigue of cancer, etc… vs. allowing us to rest when we really need to. Glad she had success with allopathic medicine to the extent she has!!
I'm listening to this for the THIRD time, and will likely watch the video next. Sitting with gratitude to you, Rich Roll, for introducing me to this extraordinary person. I'm stunned by how much I've learned from this conversation, about myself, and about creativity and my relationship to illness. In just a few days, this has transformed how I think about my own life. This interview is a gift. Thank you.
After watching American Symphony,and just after finishing reading her book. I am in awe of Suleika.A Beautiful,strong,talented lady. I could listen to her all day may she and Jon continue to be blessed as a couple,with many many happy years ahead ❤❤
What a powerful interview. Rich you were just the right person to do this interview which you so sensitively do. She is being so strong and realistic. When the lights go out we improvise, we create, we decide our own response.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sending hugs and prayers to both Suleika and Jon. I love you both. If you or I had time I would share my daughter’s story. I’ll just say that she was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 26 and it has been a journey. She is an inspiration to me.
I have listened and very much enjoyed many, many of Rich Roll’s podcasts. This one I both listened and then watched on RU-vid after viewing the incredibly moving film American Symphony. I must say this interview with Suleika is the most beautiful, heartfelt and inspiring ones I’ve listened to of Rich’s. Suleika presence is luminous. Her experience speaks to me deeply and will help me move forward at a challenging juncture in my life with my own writing and creativity. To know more of Suleika’s backstory simply adds and deepens the story line within the film American Symphony. Suleika and Jon are two American and world treasures as artists who have walked the arduous path and somehow made it beautiful.
I am so happy to have 'stumbled' upon this interview/conversation. I have been 'following' all three of you, actually, from your "best monolugue ever" with Zach Bush, to Suleika's book that I could hardly put down, Jon's music on Stephen Colber's show ~ this is now one of my all time favorite conversations , as is American Symphony on my list of films . Thank you so much
Wow, this was an amazing listen. Thank you so much. I watched American Symphony and loved it but knew nothing about Suleika. Thanks to her for sharing her story and amazing resilience in the face of adversity. What a fabulous couple; you make a difference!
An amazing woman..... yes you have to advocate for yourself........an what an amazing husband she has. Love how she surrendered and was creative and experienced a sense of submitting to something bigger than herself and you can learn something. Love her way of waking up with curiosity and wonder as if just born.
She is amazing. She inspires me as I have multiple myeloma and went through a stem cell transplant last summer. Thank you for this interview. (Wow, navigating re entry)
Thank you Rich, this is so beautiful and heart piercing. I somehow resonate with the internal battles she has and continues to deal with even though I have was never diagnosed with cancer. Love this studio.
We should be bold and confident in asking for what we need to do our jobs to the best of our ability regardless of our age or experience because whether it is journalism or the arts, it’s life saving, life changing work and that’s what it comes down to. We are here to save lives, we are here to inspire others. That’s what makes life worth it.
RICH THANK YOU FOR INTERVIEWING SUCH A REAL PERSON IT GAVE ME A VOICE TO UNTOLD FEELING I HAD DURING MY JOURNEY WITH BREAST CANCER ITS BEEN 10 YEARS NOW AND I WAS LETTING IT GO WITHOUT PONDERING AND APRRECIATE THE DETERMINATION I FOUND THAN BUT I AM DOING IT NOW WHICH IS EMPOWERING RICH U HAVE GIVING ME SO MUCH ALL THESE YEARS SO YOU R THE DREAM FRIEND I NEVER FOUND
Suleika Jaouad is a strangely important figure in my psyche -- her thinking & writing abt the deeper human realities of major & chronic illness mean a great deal to me. She sometimes even features in my dreams. And because of this, I just have to say how concerned I am abt the number of times the ongoing pandemic was referenced in the past tense in this interview. In the first 6 weeks of 2024 we've had over 4 million *reported* Covid infections in the States, 16k deaths & over 158k hospitalizations. Every reinfection increases your risk for LongCovid. And over 100 million people have been disabled by LongCovid (& MECFS) since 2020 -- the majority of those since 2021 when the great unmasking began. We don't have a sterilizing vaccine yet. This Fall & Winter we had the second highest surge on record since the pandemic began, with over 2 million infections *daily*. To erase the ongoing pandemic is to endanger everyone & to seriously endanger disabled people & those living with chronic conditions. I am begging people to please consider continuing masking in public, indoor spaces, & to not use language that suggests the pandemic is over. Thank you.
Cannot imagine a day when Suleika's inexplicable strength, wisdom, grace, humility, vulnerability and sheer beauty of her Soul seize to be the absolute standard I'm trying (and failing) to hold myself to. The amount of empathy I've felt throughout the entire book truly frightened me - I never felt this present with my own pain, yet couldn't help but lean into hers. It's impossible not to feel like it's all happening to you, too - and you will be 100% better for it. It's the book that will make you want to hug and protect the entire world. And cherish every second of your life that isn't spend in pain. Her words will act like invisible stitches right where your wounds are. Following her story has been one of the most life-changing experiences of my life. Thank you Rich. My endless awe and gratitude to you Suleika 🥺 I hope your health will allow you to keep making the world a better place until you're at least a hundred.
In addition to being a conversation filled with wisdom, I greatly appreciated the feeling of mutual respect and co-introspection. Both Rich and Suleika were deeply present for the slow and meaningful unfolding. Rich’s genuine curiosity touched me a lot, as did Suleika’s thoughtful articulations. Her composure feels so deep and so centered. I agree that living each day as though it’s your first (rather than your last) invites a sense of wonder, attention and gratitude. As someone living with unresolved illness, I also try to live from this place of reverence. Thank you, Suleika and Rich, for this very moving and contemplative conversation
She's incredibly strong and is certainly reporting from the front lines. I had a sister who died of cancer in her 30's and there is something profoundly sad at someone being the prime of their life, with everything in front of them, and with full awareness of all of that, being cut down. Heartbreakingly sad. But also super valuable that she is dong this. We are all on this journey, at differenct paces but she has a lot to each us all.
I’m a long time, late stage cancer survivor. My work is with survivors. This beautiful conversation is a gift , not only to survivors, but to all humanity. Thank you 🙏
This was so powerful. Suleika Jaoad has a calm cadence when speaking, which allows the listener to absorb her depth and wisdom. I’m glad this podcast was 2 hours. Thank you to the Rich Roll Team and Suleika Jaoad for this gift.
wow wow and WOW. Rich Roll, you never fail with your outstanding choice of guests, and your insanely beautiful talent at questioning. THIS is one of your best. Absolutely beautiful podcast. Thank you both for this share , all of the wisdom and inspiration,. xoxo
I found Suleika’s wisdom & vulnerability incredibly inspiring. She reaches to the depth of fear with the possibilities of love & hope. 12 years ago I too had endured months of treatment and on some level have avoided some of the things she speaks about. If I think about it too much the fear of possibly manifesting more of what I don’t want creeps in. Living in the present helps , however going to some of those places deep within myself is on the edge of time and if I go to the edge I may fall. I do find myself now looking fear in the eyes and flowing right through it mostly. I feel the PTSD part sometimes , especially looking at the bodily scars left behind. What I was left with in contemplating what I heard from her is to reach beyond my mind further and touch the parts that can be brought forth in more of my own light & creativity, whatever that is for me. Thank you for your presence Suleika , it is important to those of us who listen deeply to what you have to teach. S.
I have been fortunate to follow Suleika since her earliest days writing at the New York Times. I am so glad she is reaching a broader audience to share her wisdom and art. She is a true visionary having survived the mighty winds of life's biggest storms.. Many many blessings to Suleika and Jon as they continue their journey.
Thank you. It's not one of the, it is the best podcast - conversation, being together that I've heard in the internet space. Suleika Jaouad, no words to describe the experience she shared. I had to stop during the conversation few times, as if it was asking of me to pause again and again. It almost felt as if I wanted to receive each single sound of it. The space and questions and curiosities that Rich Roll created was beyond something sacred and deep and opening for all of us. It felt like a transmission (without sounding too new agey). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
UPDATE: Biopsy results are in and it is indeed a cancerous tumor. Thank you all for the supportive replies. Start of treatment and surgery are scheduled. Of course, this is a usual cancer that so many women go through, so I'm no special case. Only that I'm a man but the chances of survival are same. Good timing as they just found a tumor in my breast (yes I'm male). I'm super nervous waiting for the biopsy result.
I really needed to hear this today. I've been chronically ill from Lyme disease for 20 yrs. a former athlete, health care provider...I've lost so much during the suffering. Including my dignity. But listening to her speak has made me hold my head up a bit higher and encouraged me to use this platform any way I can and defeat the apathy that pulls every cell in your body down. I had a convo with a fellow Lyme sufferer and we both feel "lost". After prayer, we decided to rest in God's will without trying to strive. Thank you for speaking our and being so vulnerable. What class
Ugh, reading your entry hurts my heart. I'm so so sorry for your struggles with Lyme disease. I hope that there may be some relief in sight for you. Sending you a hug. Keep your head up!
An American Symphony that truly captured America would feel garish with a persistent underlying feeling of pain and discomfort. We all know what we have here in America is built on so much human suffering. Hopefully we can change that one day and build something truly independent of all the evil that's circling and ruling us. We Americans deserve that.
What a beautiful and meaningful conversation. The host, whom I’d never listened to before, was very effective and warm. Just a lovely exchange between the two.
Another beautiful and pregnant interview I love word she said, instead of living, like every day is your last day, live it like it’s your first day, with a sense of wonder, hope, love, gratitude🙏
We all live with uncertainty. I remember a story about a man simply walking his dog in the park. A huge tree branch fell on him and that was it - he had no idea his life would be ending when he put the leash on the dog that morning.
what a great interview...it certainly changed the way I go about my day... ...Suleika and John...thank you for sharing your story with the world...your courage and LOVE are a great inspiration.
A perfect conversation. Anyone who works in oncology should absolutely see this. Lovely that you both took a good amount of time to fully tell her story vs snippets in shorter interviews. Bravo. Beautiful. Suleika is so talented and such a beautiful soul.
I am applying your life of ambiguity to my situation living life with a husband with Alzheimer's. You have navigated a very difficult situation at such a young age. You and Jon are beacons of light on this journey. I feel I know you and have a sisterhood with you having lived with cancer twice.
Suleika you are such a stunning human being. I can’t express how you being you. And you and Jon sharing your journey means to me. In this time of such disintegration and confusion intensity you point us toward the inner compass so that we can have a chance at finding the North Star.
Such a powerful and beautiful woman and interview. Thank you Suleika for baring your soul to the world and know you have a village of supporters cheering you on from the outside!
You are a wonderful person...I've been looking at your journey and you give lots of hope to people going through cancer. I WISH YOU PEACE AND LOTS OF HAPPINESS GOING FORWARD. HUGS FROM IRELAND. 🇮🇪🍀🙏💐
What a great conversation between you two. I appreciate the depth on both sides and how the questions are framed. It makes me think about how much I have gone through that nobody knows about, and how many unique stories we all carry around and can´t see on the surface. Also inspirering around how to integrate trauma.
