As Jamison explores the concept of empathy throughout her essay collection, she features instances in which empathy is necessary as well as instances where empathy is difficult to achieve. In doing so, Jamison presents the reader with an honest depiction of navigating the social strain related to trauma and illness. Jamison does not present moral judgments but highlights the need to pursue empathy even in light of external factors or personal beliefs. She constructs the argument that empathy is always accessible, and making the active choice to uphold empathy is the first step toward generating an environment conducive to healing.

Jamison first grapples with the difficult but vital nature of empathy when she opens the essay collection, using her own experiences with undergoing an abortion and having open heart surgery shortly after. She grapples with the weight of these procedures, contrasting the abruptness of her heart doctor with the nameless gynecologist, the former showing very little empathy while the latter showed empathy through his actions. As Jamison struggles to connect with her lover after the abortion, she describes how she assesses him on the empathy he displays, finding him lacking but also exhausted with the effort of trying to quantify the connection she had with him.