Still Living - A Memoir of Illness, Identity and Life Beyond Survival

Aug 7, 2026

Upload by Asher

Still Living is a trauma-aware, neurodivergent memoir tracing a mountain-climb metaphor through breast cancer and chronic illness, including ME, and the identity rupture that follows. The narrative explores how healing unfolds by reinhabiting who a person is now rather than returning to an earlier self. Readers move through inner and embodied landscapes of surrender, self-compassion, hope, reflective practices, and rewilding, supported by invitations, reflective prompts, and practical breath guidance. The book offers language and belonging for the “after place” beyond survival, grief, and recovery scripts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages205

Reading Time8 h 37 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Chapter One | Before the Climb

Part 1: The Body Knows Before We Do

Part 2: The Mountains in the Distance

Part 3: The Mountain Arrives

Chapter Two | The Climb

Part 1: Crossing the Threshold

Part 2: The Ascent

Part 3: The Home Stretch

Chapter Three | After the Climb

Part 1: The Places We Land After the Climb

Part 2: The Summit Isn’t the End

Part 3: Reclaiming, Re-inhabiting and Rewilding

Practices, Invitations and Reflections

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Guides and Sherpas

Further Reading

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Contents Introduction Chapter One | Before the Climb Part 1: The Body Knows Before We Do Part 2: The Mountains in the Distance Part 3: The Mountain Arrives Chapter Two | The Climb Part 1: Crossing the Threshold Part 2: The Ascent Part 3: The Home Stretch Chapter Three | After the Climb Part 1: The Places We Land After the Climb Part 2: The Summit Isn’t the End Part 3: Reclaiming, Re-inhabiting and Rewilding PRACTICES, INVITATIONSAND REFLECTIONS Chapter One The Inner Sanctuary Practice Finding your own Metaphor Practice Chapter Two Know the Signs: Breast Cancer Symptoms Mapping your Mountain Practice Create your Tray Practice The Anchor Reflective Practice The Ways we are Held Reflective Practice The Bumble Bee Breath Practice Chapter Three Beyond the Climb Reflective Practice The Lantern of Hope Practice The Self-Compassion Bridge Practice Your Healing Constellation Practice Reclaiming the Wild Self Practice Guides and Sherpas Further Reading [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Still Living Rewilding the Self AGer the Climb C´Ç»¸Å¼Á¸ AÆÇ´ A Memoir of Illness, Identity and Life Beyond Survival [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) First published in Great Britain in 2026 by Catherine Asta Publishing Copyright © 2026 Catherine Asta All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Paperback ISBN 978-1-0369-5255-6 Ebook ISBN 978-1-0676096-1-0 Published by Catherine Asta Publishing Trading As: Catherine Asta Consulting Ltd Ilkley, United Kingdom [www.catherineasta.com](www.catherineasta.com) First edition 2026 Cover design by Anna Morrison Printed in the United Kingdom [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) µÂÂ¾Æ µÌ Ç»¸ Æ´À¸ ´ÈÇ»ÂÅ NON-FICTION Rediscovered [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Introduction 􀂕is book is a luminous and radically honest exploration of the mountains we never choose to climb and what it means to £nd our way home to ourselves in the a§ermath. 􀂕rough the guiding metaphor of my own mountain climb, it tells the story of my intimate journey through illness, identity and the rewilding of myself. It traces my path up the mountain through breast cancer, chronic illness, ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) and identity rupture, exploring how we heal not by returning to who we once were, but by reinhabiting who we are now. I invite you into the vivid and visual inner landscapes of my lived experience, from the body’s intrinsic knowing to the wild places of surrender and becoming, because so o§en there is no language for the liminal places we land a§er the climb. 􀂕ere is no path to follow, no one waiting at the summit with a lantern and no words that can fully hold us when we arrive there. 􀂕is is the place I am writing from. Structured in three parts-before the climb, during the climb, and aqer the climb - and written through a trauma-aware and neurodivergent lens. It isnot a story about survival alone, but about rewilding, reclaiming and living, still. Perhaps most importantly, it is a reminder that we carry within us the embodied intelligence to begin again, even in the harshest terrains, even when life takes us in the most unexpected directions. Wherever we land, however lost, disconnected, or out of hope we may feel, we must remember that we are not alone. By sharing my story, I hope it brings comfort and validation to yours. 􀂕ese words are o􀂚ered as strength and solace for anyone who £nds themselves in the a§er place of a mountain they never chose to climb. But you do not have to make sense of everything to belong here and full disclosure-this is not a ‘how-to’ guide-because there is no one way up a mountain. Every mountain is di􀂚erent and every mountain climber unique. More than that, m

FAQs

What is the central metaphor used in Still Living?

The book uses the guiding metaphor of a mountain climb to describe the lived experience of illness and the meaning of finding one’s way home to the self after the “climb.”

How does the book define healing in relation to one’s previous identity?

Healing is framed as growing roots in rewilded ground—reinhabiting who you are now—rather than returning to who you once were.

What conditions and experiences does the memoir address?

It traces breast cancer, chronic illness including ME, menopause, disability, grief, and identity rupture, showing how these shape time, movement, and the story a person tells about themselves.

Aug 7, 2026

Upload by Asher