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Perilous Ascent: Redefining Resilience Through Chronic Pain with Nancy Deyo
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 25% of U.S.
adults—roughly 60 million Americans—live with chronic pain, while approximately
8.5% experience high-impact chronic pain that significantly limits their daily
life or ability to work. Chronic pain is one of the most misunderstood health
challenges in modern society, often forcing people to navigate invisible
suffering, medical uncertainty, and profound personal transformation.
In this deeply honest and inspiring episode, former Silicon
Valley CEO and Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow Nancy Deyo
shares her extraordinary story of survival, identity loss, and rebuilding after
a medical crisis on Mount Kilimanjaro changed the course of her life. What
began as an ambitious climb turned into a fifteen-year journey marked by
misdiagnosis, persistent pain, opioid dependence, and the collapse of the
high-performance mindset that once fueled her success.
Nancy opens up about the emotional and psychological
realities of chronic illness, including what happens when discipline,
endurance, and “pushing through” are no longer enough. Unable to sit because of
debilitating pain, she attended graduate school lying on an army cot, later
traveled across the world stretched across three airplane seats, and eventually
found her way back into professional life—all while learning how to adapt to a
body and future she could no longer control.
Drawing from the experiences detailed in her forthcoming
memoir, Perilous Ascent, Nancy offers people a powerful
conversation about resilience that goes beyond motivational clichés. This
episode explores the hidden costs of achievement culture, the loneliness of
invisible illness, navigating flawed healthcare systems, and how to reconstruct
identity when life no longer responds to effort in the same way it once did.
Whether you are facing chronic pain, burnout, major life
disruption, or simply searching for a more sustainable understanding of success
and resilience, this conversation delivers practical wisdom, emotional honesty,
and a compelling reminder that adaptation—not perfection—can become the path
forward.
For more information: https://nancydeyo.com/
Discover More: https://nancydeyo.substack.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
View all episodes
By Kevin McShan
5
5454 ratings
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 25% of U.S.
adults—roughly 60 million Americans—live with chronic pain, while approximately
8.5% experience high-impact chronic pain that significantly limits their daily
life or ability to work. Chronic pain is one of the most misunderstood health
challenges in modern society, often forcing people to navigate invisible
suffering, medical uncertainty, and profound personal transformation.
In this deeply honest and inspiring episode, former Silicon
Valley CEO and Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow Nancy Deyo
shares her extraordinary story of survival, identity loss, and rebuilding after
a medical crisis on Mount Kilimanjaro changed the course of her life. What
began as an ambitious climb turned into a fifteen-year journey marked by
misdiagnosis, persistent pain, opioid dependence, and the collapse of the
high-performance mindset that once fueled her success.
Nancy opens up about the emotional and psychological
realities of chronic illness, including what happens when discipline,
endurance, and “pushing through” are no longer enough. Unable to sit because of
debilitating pain, she attended graduate school lying on an army cot, later
traveled across the world stretched across three airplane seats, and eventually
found her way back into professional life—all while learning how to adapt to a
body and future she could no longer control.
Drawing from the experiences detailed in her forthcoming
memoir, Perilous Ascent, Nancy offers people a powerful
conversation about resilience that goes beyond motivational clichés. This
episode explores the hidden costs of achievement culture, the loneliness of
invisible illness, navigating flawed healthcare systems, and how to reconstruct
identity when life no longer responds to effort in the same way it once did.
Whether you are facing chronic pain, burnout, major life
disruption, or simply searching for a more sustainable understanding of success
and resilience, this conversation delivers practical wisdom, emotional honesty,
and a compelling reminder that adaptation—not perfection—can become the path
forward.
For more information: https://nancydeyo.com/
Discover More: https://nancydeyo.substack.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices