Voices of the Chronically Ill

Book excerpt: This book describes what it is like to embody chaos and liminality in living with a physical chronic illness and how these experiences are related to the loss and remaking of one’s sense of self. It also encourages readers to listen closely to the figurative language people use in trying to articulate the unspeakable. Focusing upon a wide array of narrative fragments gathered from first-person literary work and research, the author portrays how a conglomerate of sensations, feelings, and thoughts are embodied in the illness experience. The voices present in this text speak of vulnerability, suffering, and brokenness, yet also, endurance and fortitude. The ethics of philosopher Emmanuel Levinas provide the grounds for offering care lovingly. This book makes a significant contribution to helping students, practitioners and carers understand the chaos that is inherent, yet so often silenced, in the illness experience. This text could also be of interest to laypeople who are curious about how subjective illness is experienced, and to those who are ill who may be seeking affirmation for what they are experiencing.