"Tuesday morning, I spent an hour with a neurologist trying to figure out why I kept tripping over my feet. He pushed and pulled on my legs, whacked me with a reflex hammer and shone a light so deep into my eyes I thought it might illuminate the wall behind my head. That afternoon, I drove home and ordered a new backpacking tent."

Pain is an unforgiving equalizer--forget social status, race or gender. For people suffering from chronic pain, "real life" can get lost among endless appointments, diagnoses, prescriptions and medical bills. Living a life beyond mere survival becomes as big a battle as fighting the pain itself.

Drawing on her experiences as both a patient and a health-care professional, the author candidly describes her sudden transition from a healthy, active lifestyle to years of learning to live with debilitating pain.