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Breast cancer survivor tells Jon Stewart to just say no to positive thinking

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On last night's episode of The Daily Show, author Barbara Ehrenreich (her latest book is called Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America) talked about her breast cancer diagnosis eight years ago. Instead of finding the support she needed, she was told things like "be positive" and "embrace your disease" and "you'll come out a better person." That's not what she wanted or needed to hear, she told Stewart, adding that those types of statements can do more harm than good.In the upcoming Winter issue, we're running an article about how some survivors have found a silver lining to their cancer experience. Of course, not all survivors feel this way. Check out "Being Positive?" from a previous issue for more on this topic, and tell us what you think.Barbara Ehrenreich

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