Kintsugi & Camino: Healing through words with Shoshana Kerewsky

·55 min·5 clips

Shoshana frames cancer as a pilgrimage, questioning if it's a death sentence or a transformative path.

Dan Mullins opens the episode by announcing his upcoming musical Camino walk from Porto to Santiago in September, inviting listeners to join. He then introduces the episode's guest, Shoshana Kerewsky, author of 'Cancer Kintsugi Camino' and '50 Days in May.' Shoshana explains how she first learned about the Camino from a Catholic friend and how it became a symbol of freedom during COVID, leading her to walk four Caminos. She describes her complex identity as a queer Jewish Buddhist atheist, detailing her secular Jewish upbringing and philosophical attraction to Buddhism without numinous faith experiences. Shoshana shares her background as a psychotherapist, noting how it shaped her listening skills and self-awareness. The discussion turns to her cancer diagnosis, which she compares to a pilgrimage, using metaphors to find meaning in suffering. She introduces kintsugi, a Japanese practice of repairing broken ceramics with gold lacquer, as a metaphor for embracing scars and brokenness in life. Shoshana talks about her book '50 Days in May,' which reflects on her Camino experiences thematically, including her Jewish identity and the erased history of Jews in northern Spain. She recounts a Camino story where she raised funds for cancer research and connected with young pilgrims sharing personal stories. Shoshana plans to walk from her home in Washington to a pilgrim conference in Vancouver and continues to teach writing workshops. The episode concludes with her Camino lesson: 'keep walking, and if you can't, sit down, shut up, and pay attention.'

As heard by us

A Camino disorientation opens into a reflective conversation about tamoxifen, self-calming, and the stories language helps reveal.

Camino walking frames a thoughtful discussion about the stories people use to steady themselves when medication, work, and frustration disturb their sense of competence.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when a missing Camino arrow feels like the right doorway into illness, competence, frustration, and the stories you tell yourself.

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