Jamison tries to connect her own lived experiences to those she is listening to. She fears that she too could have this disease after she hears their stories, but she knows she is just grasping for a deeper understanding of these people. She often can only offer a kind nod, because she truly has no idea what this pain feels like. To her, it is less that she can feel empathetic and more that she is able to show compassion to them. She doesn’t believe the same “delusion” that they do, but she does believe that they feel this pain. There are no worms living under their skin, but they are lonely and isolated because of this pain. I don’t know if I would say her empathy is radical. She treats these people in a humane and kind way. Everyone deserves this and everyone has the ability to treat others like this. She tries to set aside her own preconceived notions about their illness and see beyond the scars and sores, but she still sees their symptoms as delusions. At the end of the day, she is the one left feeling guilty, wondering if their source of suffering is real. Anyone can recognize that someone is in pain but can they truly be empathetic if they don’t believe in where this pain is coming from? She tries to equate life and the fact that we are all chasing something and sometimes that something keeps moving so far away. But I think it is unfair to relate metaphorical life experiences to the pain these people are experiencing.

“But compassion isn’t the same thing as belief” (182). To me, empathy is not the same thing as compassion. I think she has a great amount of compassion for these people and she tries to be empathetic but nothing about this seems radical, more so just human.