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Thu 10 Oct 2009Time to discard our delusions and get real

‘ALWAYS LOOK on the bright side of life” was the tune that concluded Monty Python’s classic farce, The Life of Brian. The joke was, of course, that as they sang, they were being crucified, and their optimism was, let’s just say, misplaced, writes JOHN GIBBONS

US author Barbara Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. Frightened and angry, she was astonished to be bombarded from all sides with people insisting that she think positively. She recalls being scolded for the “negativity” of articulating deep fears and just wanting to cry.

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