Our best teachers first appear as challenges
— Pema Chodron

Kim Rooney’s dance with adversity began at age twenty-nine, when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis-which she affectionately refers to as “Arthur.” In her book, Spiritual Two by Fours and Other Wake-Up Calls: What to Do When Life Hits You Upside the Head, she shares her journey-her “dance with Arthur” -to find the mix of “gifts” that made her director and choreographer of her life.

After first learning about her illness, she was consumed by fear and anxiety. A former athlete and busy professional, the diagnosis turned her life upside down.
Kim now considers both her writing and the response to her illness as a calling, leading to the opportunity to teach others how to deal with adversity in their own lives. Her book is broken down into three parts. The first part is about the journey to self and rediscovering what lies deeply inside us. For her, discovering her own courage and developing self-love became two of the biggest steps towards healing. The second part of the book is about compassion, forgiveness and gratitude, for ourselves as well as for others. The last part is about doing what you want to do in life, including playing. When she incorporating all these into her life, the medicine and negative attitude she once had disappeared.
Kim now considers arthritis to be a gift, a path to her purpose in life. She learned to accept her situation rather than fight it. Arthritis enables her to co-create her life by incorporating changes and allowing herself to become transformed.
For more information, please visit. www.kimberlyarooney.com.