“The Pain Project is ironically full of pleasure: on every page is another generous, original insight into this most intimate human subject.”—NAOMI KLEIN, author of Doppelganger

“The Pain Project is a beautiful, humane, thoughtful inquiry into the challenge of living with chronic pain and how Stanley and Paradis navigate its impact on their lives. This is a tough subject but a joyful book; it takes on a daunting topic with heart and humor and determination. It’s wonderful.”—SUSAN ORLEAN, author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book

Ten years after her husband’s catastrophic injury, author Kara Stanley embarks with him on a journey to understand his chronic pain and find pathways into joy and relief.

Kara and her husband, Simon, are at a desperate crossroads. In 2008, Simon fell off a scaffold, causing severe injuries to his brain and spinal cord. He made a remarkable recovery, eventually adjusting to life in a wheelchair and returning to his career as a musician, but he continues to suffer from debilitating pain that is beginning to strip away his selfhood.

On the ten-year anniversary of the accident, Kara and Simon decide to confront Simon’s pain head-on by committing to a personal experiment. For one year, they will focus on researching, interviewing experts, and exploring both new, and age old, pain relief strategies. A decade ago, Simon was prescribed the pain-relieving drug hydromorphone. Can he discover an alternate therapeutic approach that is at least as effective as daily doses of opioids?

As they navigate a difficult year, Kara’s tenacity and Simon’s wit shine through in their honest conversations, insightful journal entries, and affectionate banter. Throughout, they seek answers to profound questions about the nature of suffering and pain:

• Is it helpful to conceptualize pain as a disease, or not?
• What does it mean to understand that pain is always a creation of the brain?
• What is the difference between healing and curing? Is healing still possible even when all-better is not an option?

Globally, at least one in five people suffer from chronic pain, placing an enormous burden on medical systems around the world. Not just a medical but also a social justice issue, chronic pain continues to be poorly understood and poorly treated. It is a challenging topic to discuss with friends and family because, as Simon says, no one really wants to lead with their cloud. Deciding to accept this challenge, Simon and Kara’s experiment is a wide-ranging exploration of the definitions, treatments, science, myths, and meanings of the mysterious and multi-faceted force that is pain.

As difficult as the topic is, it can also provide us with an opportunity to question our current course. What can we learn when we confront our pain head-on? Honest, deeply researched, insightful, and ultimately hopeful, The Pain Project is a must-read for anyone looking for a greater understanding of pain as a phenomenon and in their own lives.

Kara Stanley holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and her writing has appeared in Fugue, HipMama, and Paste. She lives on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia.

Kara Stanley's profile page

Simon Paradis' profile page

"This essential tome is the wisest and most engagingly readable text on this topic... While acknowledging the struggles others faced, Stanley still allows us all that surge of hope so necessary to sustaining human life"
—The British Columbia Review

"This luminously written book is both a self-help guide for those confronting chronic pain and a tender portrait of a marriage tested to the limits of for better or for worse... This tough, lovely book is a gift to us all. Highly recommended."
—Vancouver Sun

"The Pain Project describes the couple’s personal journey but, thanks to Stanley’s extensive research, it also provides insights into how medical science is still struggling to address and treat chronic pain."
—Winnipeg Free Press

"Stanley’s candor and nimble storytelling will have readers following closely every peak and valley of the couple’s quest for relief. It’s a probing account of what it’s like to reside in what Susan Sontag memorably called the 'kingdom of the sick.'"
—Publishers Weekly

“The Pain Project is a beautiful, humane, thoughtful inquiry into the challenge of living with chronic pain and how Stanley and Paradis navigate its impact on their lives. This is a tough subject but a joyful book; it takes on a daunting topic with heart and humor and determination. It’s wonderful.”
—Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book

"The Pain Projectis ironically full of pleasure: on every page is another generous, original insight into this most intimate human subject. Stanley and Paradis invite you into their world, and it’s an incredible place to be—full of science, music, problem-solving, and love."
—Naomi Klein, New York Times bestselling author

"An extraordinary book, raw, honest, immediate, literate, and astonishingly readable... an inspiring example on how to deal with the challenges of life itself."
—Carol Shaben, author of Into the Abyss

“In The Pain Project, Kara Stanley expertly synthesizes the most recent research and ancient wisdom on pain and, together with her partner, Simon Paradis, puts it to an honest, messy, real life test. In the process, she tells a story of endurance in the face of formidable odds—and a story of enduring love. If you live with pain, or care for someone who does, The Pain Project is necessary reading.
—Susan Olding, author of Big Reader and Pathologies: A Life in Essays

“The Pain Project will astonish and appall you—a riveting chronicle of one couple’s struggles to apply the latest insights into the enigma of chronic pain to their post-accident lives. Utterly fascinating and inspiring—a medical whodunnit.”
—Andreas Schroeder, author of Renovating Heaven

"A medicine cabinet of wonders! On the outside, an unflinching reflection of a pain-wracked life. Inside are shelves stacked with loving wisdom, revelatory research, and all the right questions."
—Avi Lewis, filmmaker and activist

“I didn’t think there was much left for me to learn about modern pain science. But Kara Stanley’s compassionate, erudite, and wry new book has introduced me to a realm of ideas I hadn’t even considered, reflecting important progress in the field. Stanley is a brilliant, sensitive writer, fully in command of this narrative of a very-much-in-love couple whose lives changed in a second. I cheered them on, page after page, decision after decision. If you or someone you love suffers from ‘the pain of a damaged central nervous system that [is] wildly misfiring,’ as Stanley puts it, this is a book you have to read."
—Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, author of Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery

“Kara Stanley bravely tells the intimate story of a relationship any reader would envy despite its pain, and interweaves it seamlessly with what we know (and don’t know) about the science of pain.”
—Bonnie Sherr Klein, Officer of the Order of Canada, author, and disability activist

A roadmap through the very human experience of pain."
—Kenneth R. Rosen, author of Troubled: The Failed Promise of America's Behavioral Treatment Programs

“Kara and Simon’s efforts to understand and control Simon’s horrific and constant pain have them investigating cutting-edge science, ancient practices, and all that lies in between. This is a journey rendered clearly in Kara’s elegant prose, inspiring in its courage and commitment to their shared purpose and each other; a powerful, accessible resource for those whose lives are marked by pain and everyone who cares about and for them. A hard, beautiful story told with great compassion and generous humor, The Pain Project reflects the courage, commitment, and love that lie at the root of healing.”
—Leslie A. Davidson, author of Dancing in Small Spaces

“The Pain Project provides agency and meaning to those lost without a map in an unfamiliar world of relentless suffering. This book functions as both companion and ally, sharing personal experience of how to shift pain pathways as well as cutting-edge scientific research on the origins and treatments of pain. It's rare to read a book that can offer genuine hope to those who are suffering. The Pain Project does just that.”
—Rachel Rose, author of The Octopus Has Three Hearts

This book is dearly intimate and heartbreakingly universal. The Pain Project is an unforgettable inquiry into the deeper meaning of pain. What does it tell us? What can it teach us?"
—Michael Harris, author of The End of Absence and All We Want