At some point in our lives, all of us will face difficult news. That was the case for Canadian academic Kate Bowler. She was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, at just 35. When the news hits, the support she receives is overwhelmingly positive. But as well intentioned as those responses are, Kate becomes trapped in a role she doesn’t want to play.

Matthew Syed asks why we reach for positivity so quickly in the face of suffering and where that instinct comes from.

With contributions from Kate Bowler; Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, Professor of Sociology at City St George's, University of London and social psychologist Pr Batja Mesquita, from Leuven University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed

Producer: Julien Manuguerra-PattenEditor: Katherine GodfreyProduction Manager: Joe SavageSound Design and Engineering: Nicholas AlexanderTheme tune by Ioana SelaruA Novel production for BBC Radio 4