Kathy Buckley: Challenged To Evolve

Nothing is guaranteed in this life, a fact who few appreciate more than comedian, author and deaf advocate, Kathy Buckley. Over the course of her life, Buckley was challenged to evolve, adapt and change her favorites in order to overcome adversity and build the life she wanted. Due to severe illness as a child, she began to lose her hearing and was diagnosed as deaf by the time she reached grade school. Still, Buckley was determined to fit in, make meaningful connections and belong, yet her condition and a lack of understanding both from teachers and students made this impossible. Alienated and struggling to find purpose throughout high school, she had eventually lost the will to live. Buckley reflected on this period in her life during one of her stand-up shows, sharing that by the age of 20, she had attempted suicide five times, but nevertheless was grateful to God to have failed.

 

Yet tragedy continued to strike, as Buckley, still just a young adult,was run over and dragged by a lifeguard jeep while sunbathing on the beach.To fully recover from the accident, it took five years of extensive rehab, multiple surgeries and years of being in a wheelchair. Buckley described the ordeal as undoubtedly traumatic, yet also as a moment of sudden and profound clarity in her life—she realized, thatdespite everything, she wasn’t ready to die. From that harrowing day on the beach, Buckley chose to live and to not only hope for a better life but to fight to make it so. While the hardships that had followed her since childhood did not vanish with this decision, Buckley’s newfound mindset proved instrumental in forming the kind of person she would go on to become–someone who would use her pain as source of laughter and inspiration for others.

 

Buckley would later go on to battle cancer and survive. Her seemingly unfortunate luck in life continued to serve as a unique source of humor for her stand-up shows. Her method of coping through self-deprecating jokes about the hard times of her past highlights a truly incredible will, one that would see tragedy swapped for comedy and Buckley ultimately taking control of the tone of her life.

 

Indeed, many are forced to adapt and contend with the curve balls life throws their way. It may even feel as though there is little choice in these matters, with instinct and self-preservation taking over. Yet Buckley’s story reaffirms the power of choice, as she chooses not only life, but joy and humor too, shifting her mindset to overcome these obstacles individually. Not content to be defined by the tragedies of her life, Buckley embraced a personal change that allowed for new favorites, personal discoveries, opportunities and of course, room to laugh.