Painful Pursuits

Human Suspension & the Soul's Quest for Peace

As a writer with an eye on culture, I thought I was not easily disturbed. Then I saw something about human suspension. "Suspension" is one of those extreme hobby-pastimes, but you wouldn't call it a "sport." Suspension is when a person allows himself to be pierced with large hooks and then lifted off the ground from a rigging of ropes and pulleys attached to the hooks. Kate Shelton, a London-based filmmaker who does not suspend but loves all things weird and macabre, explored the phenomenon in On Tender Hooks. I watched the trailer in stunned disbelief. Then, after steeling my nerves, I watched the full-length film.

Suspension Explained

Every...