by Carolyn Thomas    ♥    @HeartSisters

Have you ever had the same nightmare more than once about the same impossibly unlikely scenario? My own recurring nightmare:  I’m walking into Mrs. Webster’s Grade 13 math class (Ontario high schools went up to Grade 13 in those days). I’m about to write my final math exam – until I suddenly remember that I’ve somehow forgotten to go to math class – ALL YEAR!

That’s the kind of dream described as “Kafka-esque”, named for the writer Franz Kafka. Dr. David Pickus explains that word:

“Kafka-esque is primarily a synonym for ‘nightmarish’ or ‘inexplicably bad’ events – especially if they take the form of a strange interruption of everyday life.”

It also struck me that this“strange interruption of everyday life” is precisely how hearing an “inexplicably bad” medical diagnosis so often feels.   Continue reading “The word ‘Kafka-esque’ means nightmarish or strange – like a frightening new diagnosis” →