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