When I was a little less than two years old, I very nearly died. But I’ve already described that to you — and if you missed it, you can read it here.
This is the second episode in which my friend Pen interviewed me about living with diabetes.
Whereas the first episode focused on the question of “What is diabetes?” and “How were you diagnosed?” this episode focuses on “What is your life like today?” and “How has diabetes affected your thinking?”
The summary is that I’m constantly surfing the line between conceptual constructs — like carbohydrates, units of insulin, the conceptual knowledge of the fact that poor control could cause me to lose life or limb — and embodied experience — like feeling dizzy or sluggish, being confused or unable to speak, or losing consciousness altogether.
This balancing act has made me sensitive to when people (both myself and others) are speaking primarily from their conceptual knowledge, or primarily from their lived experience, though they are never entirely separate.
Over the holidays, I’ve been writing about diabetes for an academic paper I’m working on, which will serve as an introduction to Neither/Nor. Though there’s a daunting amount of work still to be done, it is coming together.
You can listen to the podcast here, or search for “Bryan Kam” or “Clerestory” on any Podcast app. You can also click here to listen on other platforms.
Please like this post if you listen, just so I know you are out there! And if you listen and would like to respond, I love receiving voicenotes. Respond to this email if you don’t have an easy way to send me audio :)
All the best,
Bryan
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