Welcome to Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain-sensing headband that helps you meditate and meditation studio, the five-star app.

I'm Patricia Carpice.

Today's guest is Tony Bernhard.

I loved talking with Tony.

She's lived an extraordinary life and learned so much from the pain that she's had to endure.

Tony's written four books, How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness, How to Wake Up,

a Buddhist-inspired guide for navigating joy and sorrow, How to Be Sick, and most recently,

a pocket guide to the original version of how to be sick.

What makes Tony unique is that she's been living with a chronic illness for over 20 years.

In 2001, on a trip to Paris with her husband, actually, she was diagnosed with an acute viral infection and has never recovered.

She lives with pain and fatigue every day and as such

had to retire as a law professor at UC Davis. Tony had studied Buddhism before she became ill,

but has taken a much deeper dive since her life took this unexpected turn. Her books share her story and are compilations

of the wisdom and tools that have helped her cope with the physical and emotional challenges

she continues to face. I actually found her to be uplifting, graceful, honest, and wise as she

shared how she's navigated and accepted her life journey for better and for worse.

You'll hear how illness can be a metaphor for life and how we can all handle the mix of joys and

sorrows that we inevitably face. Now here's Tony.

Tony, I am so happy to have you on Untangle today.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Oh, I'm really glad to be here, Patricia.

Thanks.

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