Books

Pain and Resilience

book describes long odyssey with chronic pain

Tyler Jennings Henderson, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

What began with surgery on a herniated disc led to decades of chronic pain for Gary Weinkauf of Eau Claire, author of the new book Stop the Orchestra from Playing: One Man’s Odyssey with Pain.
What began with surgery on a herniated disc led to decades of chronic pain for
Gary Weinkauf of Eau Claire, author of the new book Stop the Orchestra from
Playing: One Man’s Odyssey with Pain.

It was a long time coming for Gary Weinkauf when he published his first book, Stop the Orchestra from Playing: One Man’s Odyssey with Pain.

Weinkauf, 63, has been journaling his many experiences with chronic pain since he was 38 years old. The former computer programmer and consultant from Eau Claire retired almost a decade ago and then decided to begin the process of sifting through the journal entries and medical bills that told his story.

“When I first started having my pain problems, journaling was a defense against the pain for me,” he said. “I just put it all together when inspiration hit me.”

“During the day I make an effort to stick to a regimen. But pain is pain. You just deal with it as best as you can.” – author Gary Weinkauf, on living with chronic pain

The book is a sequence of short stories that begins with Weinkauf’s first surgery on a herniated disc in his back. After that surgery, he later found that the sciatic nerve in his back was crushed. One more surgery later, he was told that there was only a 10 percent chance that the pain would come back, but it came back fiercely a year later, leading to another surgery. “From that first surgery on, I’ve never been without pain,” he said.

Since then, Weinkauf has been through many surgeries, most recently having surgery on both of his rotator cuffs, as well as an upcoming hip surgery. Referring to his medical file as “thicker than a Chicago phone book,” he still maintains a positive attitude that he hopes will carry over into his self-published book. “The odyssey is never over. I could probably write two (books),” he said. “But after this many years, you learn ways to deal with it.”

Weinkauf has found peace in multiple ways described in his book, not the least of which is being with his family, which has grown to seven grandchildren. He also finds his own “Zen place” when he has moments of intense pain. The days aren’t easy, though. “It’s been a process that I’m still going through, I have a regimented way I sleep, certain medications. … During the day I make an effort to stick to a regimen,” he said. “But pain is pain. You just deal with it as best as you can.”

His experiences, chronicled within the pages of Stop the Orchestra from Playing, have already been recognized within the medical community around the United States. Alltop.com, a culture and entertainment website, featured a “How to Cope with Pain” blog that had this to say about Weinkauf’s book: “Gary’s sense of humor comes through in the book and makes for enjoyable reading. … He also shares very honestly the challenges of not working, depression and anxiety, and pain’s effect on his family.”

It also received positive reviews from the physicians and psychologists that read the book, according to Weinkauf. He realizes, though, that the book has a more specific purpose than to simply fly off the shelves. “I didn’t write it for the money,” he said. “It’s not going to be a best-seller. It was more for me and other people who relate to what I have been going through.”

While he may have written the book for a target audience, Weinkauf urges readers to find anything within the pages that they can draw inspiration from. The analogy of the orchestra can be related to more than simply chronic pain.

“I was trying to look at something that was a good analogy for the peaks and valleys of pain. I don’t have a musical background, but what I came up with was the orchestra, and when all the different pieces are playing in tune, it sounds good,” he said. “It has kind of convoluted to me in a way that in my scenario, that meant lots of pain. All the different pieces that produced the pain were playing in unison.”

Weinkauf’s book can be found at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St., as well as online through vendors including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more. The book is also available for Kindle and Nook.