Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague. Some have a beginning, middle and end. Others wander without a clear conclusion. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard – without interruption, assumption or judgment.
　　每个故事都是不同的。有些故事详细，有些却模糊；有些故事有开始、经过和结果，有些则天马行空，没有明确的结论；有些故事是真实的，而有些不是。不过，这些要素都不是最重要的。对讲述者来说，真正重要的是，这个故事要有人去倾听——不要打断，不要臆断，也不要去评价。

　　Listening to someone’s story costs less than expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.
　　去听别人讲故事比进行昂贵的诊断测试成本低得多，但它却是治疗和诊断的关键。

　　I often thought of what that woman taught me, and I reminded myself of the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening.
　　And, not long after, in an unexpected twist, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time – in a wheelchair.
　　我经常去琢磨，那个老妇人究竟让我懂得了什么。放下自己的想法，坐下来真诚地倾听，我提醒自己要铭记这样做的重要性。而就在那次会面过去不久后，事情发生了意想不到的大扭转——我被确诊患上了多发性硬化症，成了一名病人。那年我31岁。
　　如今，20年过去了，我需要一直坐着——坐在轮椅中。

　　For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to resign when my hands were affected. I still teach med students and other health care professionals, but now from the perspective of physician and patient.
　　我曾尽自己所能，继续坐在轮椅上去看病人，但当我的双手也出现症状后，我不得不选择退休。如今我仍然为医科学生和其他医疗专业人员上课，但现在不仅仅是站在医生的角度——还有病人的角度。

　　I tell them I believe in the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that immeasurable healing takes place within me when someone
stops, sits down and listens to my story.
　　我跟他们说，我相信倾听是味良药。我告诉他们，我亲身体会到，当有人停下自己的事，坐下来聆听你的故事时，会在你的身体里产生无法估量的治愈力。