I. The Experience of Illness

Fiction

Allison, Dorothy Bastard Out of Carolina Genre: Novel Source: New York: Penguin, 1993. Summary: A coming of age narrative with valuable insights into abusive, dysfunctional families. Commentary:

This disturbing and powerful novel tells of family, child abuse, rape, and poverty from the perspective of a suffering young girl who struggles to find the seeds of survival. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

back to top : you are here Bontemps, Arna "A Summer Tragedy" Genre: Short Story Source: Arna Bontemps, The Old South: "A Summer Tragedy" and Other Stories of the Thirties. New York: Dodd-Mead, 1973. Summary: An elderly black couple chooses suicide over old age without dignity. Commentary:

In this story, a poor, black, sharecropper couple agrees to kill themselves rather than burden one another. The discussion eventually focused on the real tragedy of the story: the situation created by inequality, oppression, exploitation, denial of opportunity. Paired with May Sarton's As We Are Now, Doris Grumbach's "Coming Into The End Zone" and "What It's Really Like to Grow Old," Phillip Larkin's "The Old Fools," and Grace Paley's "Questions" and "My Father at 89." (Margery Irvine, Maine)

back to top : you are here Boyle, T. Coraghessan The Road to Wellville Genre: Novel Source: New York: Penguin, 1994. Commentary:

This book is loosely based on the life of John Harvey Kellogg, known for the cereal and for his health spa. The description of him seems to follow his life pretty accurately, but there are obvious embellishments around the margins. I chose this book on the advice of a colleague and circulated reviews. I hadn't read it ahead of time and wish I had! It is not well written, and it is slow going. There are some interesting points in it (and some funny parts) but I didn't find it to be a very good way to talk about alternative health care. We did have some reasonable discussion about what Kellogg's son George represents (dark/light, father/son, etc.). And we had a productive discussion about how to support people around us making choices that we worry about or that don't make sense to us. People were disappointed with this book (including me). (Susan Bell, Maine)

back to top : you are here Canin, Ethan "We Are Nighttime Travelers" Genre: Short Story Source: Ethan Canin, Emperor of the Air. New York: Harper, 1989. Summary: A story about an aging married couple. It raises issues concerning aging, dementia, relationships, illness, how live a meaningful life, and how to approach a story told by an unreliable narrator/patient. Commentary:

A beautifully written story about an elderly couple's marriage. Most of the discussion focused on the literary merits (considerable) of the story and the picture it presents of aging people and their relationships. (Margery Irvine, Maine)

A short story about love lost and regained as a man ages. Some saw it as a wonderful love story, others as this man's lost opportunity. (Allison Hepler, Maine)

back to top : you are here Carr, Pat "Sunday Morning" Genre: Short Story Source: Pat Carr, The Woman in the Mirror. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1977. Summary: A brief story about the birthing experience from the point of view of a delivering woman. Commentary:

This was paired with Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illych in a session about life cycles. The discussion focused almost completely on the Tolstoy novella and the implications and experiences of death, about which our group had much to say. The primary value of both pieces was that they gave an intimate sense of what it is like to be the person undergoing the experience. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

back to top : you are here Cather, Willa "Paul's Case" Genre: Short Story Source: Willa Cather, The Troll Garden and Selected Stories. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983 (originally published in 1905). Summary: A short story about a young gay high school student who has an abusive father. The boy is enchanted with opera, and is miserable and misunderstood at school. He steals a large sum of money, takes a train to a big city where he fulfills some of his wildest dreams (living luxuriously in a fancy hotel for a few days), and then commits suicide. Commentary:

Although it was written in the early part of the twentieth century, Paul's despair is one that continues to resonate among many adolescents, making this a particularly moving and applicable story even today. Participants generally liked this reading, especially the evocative language in it. One said that she thought there wasn't one unnecessary word in it. Cather beautifully captures a sense of adolescent recklessness and quest for identity in the face of schools' attempts to impose bureaucratic order. Some participants missed the references to gay sexual identity; some focused on the meaning of the word "case" and drew connections to psychiatry. (Susan Bell, Maine)

back to top : you are here Chekhov, Anton "Misery" Genre: Short Story Source: Anton Chekhov, The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories. New York: Ecco, 1984. Summary: A short story about a father's search for someone to listen to his grief. Commentary:

This story did not generate a lot of discussion. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

This story elicited discussion of hospice care and the need of the families of those who are dying to have resources for dealing with their grief, as well as thoughts about how poorly we deal with death and dying in our culture and how difficult death is to discuss. (Muriel Fish, Maine)

back to top : you are here Cunningham, Michael The Hours Genre: Novel Source: New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998. Summary: A novel based on Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, told in alternating episodes of the main characters' lives in the present, interspersed with tales from the past. Consider pairing with Mrs. Dalloway (New York: Harvest Books, 1990; originally published in 1925), the classic novel that explores relationships, painful images of the past bleeding into the present, and future filled with lost desires and compromises. Commentary:

Cunningham's novel follows the interweaving lives of three characters: Clarissa Dalloway and her friend Richard who has AIDS; Mrs. Brown, whose life we follow beginning in the 1950s; and Virginia Woolf. It provoked discussion about depression, suicide, HIV, and minority sexualities. Participants found the non-linear prose challenging and the content disturbing. (Eve Raimon, Maine)

back to top : you are here Defoe, Daniel A Journal of the Plague Year Genre: Novel Source: New York: Penguin, 1966 (originally published in 1722). Summary: One of the earliest novels written in English, Defoe describes the range of public reactions to the 1664-65 epidemic of the plague in London, including public health measures, the efforts of quacks to offer hope and remedies to the public, efforts to escape in spite of the dangers doing so might bring to people in outlying areas, and the return to old patterns of daily life once the epidemic was over. Commentary:

While some participants found reading this book somewhat challenging and took me up on the suggestion to skip selected pages, most read the entire book. They used it to talk about the meaning of epidemics and the reactions of public health and government officials to them, the consequences of individuals' efforts to protect themselves, the notion of illness as retribution, and the tension between individual liberty and public responsibility. They questioned whether we have made progress today, since the questions surrounding SARS, AIDS, influenza, and other diseases today are so similar to those Defoe considered. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Doerr, Harriet Stones for Ibarra Genre: Novel Source: New York: Penguin, 1984. Summary: A married Californian couple move to Mexico, where the husband learns of his diagnosis of leukemia. His wife is in the process of documenting the traditional oral stories of the people of Ibarra, and weaves the native stories together with more contemporary visions of her husband's life and death. Commentary:

Beautifully written short novel about experience of death from a variety of perspectives, including cross-cultural.

back to top : you are here Edson, Margaret W;t Genre: Play Source: New York: Faber & Faber, 1999 (now easily found on VHS and DVD). Summary: A Pulitzer Prize winning play about a Donne scholar's encounter with her own death; a quite scathing portrayal of "experts", both doctors and scholars. Pair with Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (Sonnets V and VI) and "Death Be Not Proud." Commentary:

Although there was some complaint that the doctors were being caricatured, there was also acknowledgement of Edson's deadly accuracy in portraying the linguistic absurdities and obfuscations in the medical situation. The play dramatized the crucial role of the nurse-caregiver, whose ethos differed from that of the research doctors, and — as in Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Illych and Tillie Olsen's stories-it portrayed the process of dying as one of potential moral insight. Part of a session on "Ethics and Meaning," Edson, Donne, and Robert Coles' "Medical Ethics and Living a Life" were grouped together. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

Raises the issues of how far medicine can and should go to treat an illness, how focused on "cure" physicians can become, and how a patient fares when her humanness is forgotten. We read this play aloud (I assigned parts as we went along, giving everyone the chance to participate); participants responded to the artfulness of the work and to the honestly drawn content. (Elizabeth Cooke, Maine)

This slight, but marvelous rendition of the dramatic interactions between a Donne scholar dying of ovarian cancer and the various medical professionals who attend to her is a must for Literature & Medicine seminars. We talked about the written play after seeing a live performance of the play, and after several members of the group had seen the special on HBO [now easily found on video and DVD]. The opportunity to compare the written text, and our imaginings of it, to actual performances was wonderful. We had a lively and informed discussion, including some talk about Donne and the Holy Sonnets — and what poetry tells you. Very highly recommended for all groups! (Sydney Landon Plum, Maine)

W;t explores the relationship between an English professor dying of cancer and the doctors who treat her with an experimental protocol. Some participants objected to the way the play stereotyped both doctors and patients, turning them into caricatures and presenting them as dehumanized intellectuals and scientists. We used it to explore the question of what draws doctors to medicine (and by extension, people to other aspects of medical care, since the only caring character is a female nurse). They also talked about pain, about listening, about mistakes, about what gives a life meaning. I also gave participants a Donne poem examined in the text and some of his meditations; a few members of the group read more on their own. One volunteered to read the poem aloud, which we all found surprisingly moving. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Finger, Anne "Like the Hully Gully But Not So Slow" Genre: Short Story Source: Despite This Flesh: The Disabled in Stories and Poems. Ed. Vassar Miller. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985. Summary/Commentary: This is a short story about a very smart eleven-year-old girl who uses canes and wears a brace to move around. Her father has a chronic mental illness. The story records her experiences of being different and of coping with her father's "moods." People in the group loved the portrayal of the girl, especially a letter she writes to an advice column. (Susan Bell, Maine) back to top : you are here Gilman, Charlotte Perkins "The Yellow Wall-Paper" Genre: Short Story Source: New York: Bantam, 1989 (originally published in 1892). Summary: A famous early feminist story about a woman suffering from an unnamed "nervous ailment" after the birth of her child. Her physician-husband brings her to rest at a country house; however, her "rest" includes an increased narrowing of her world, as she is told to give up all intellectual activity (including writing) and is eventually confined to her bedroom. She begins to see women confined within the yellow wallpaper of her room, mirroring her own confinement, as she has an emotional breakdown. A classic piece on the treatment of women by the medical profession at the turn of the twentieth century. back to top : you are here Haslett, Adam You are Not a Stranger Here Genre: Short stories Source: New York: Doubleday, 2002. Summary: A collection of stories, many of which deal with mental illness, particularly depression, and with the nature of families. Several of the stories also address homosexuality. Commentary:

Participants used these stories to talk about relationships between caregivers and patients (one referred to caregivers' need for patients to need them), the powers wielded by those who are ill, and the consequences of choosing not to be treated, especially for mental illness. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Kafka, Franz The Metamorphosis and Other Stories Genre: Short Stories Source: New York: Dover, 1996. Summary: "The Metamorphosis" is Kafka's classic short novel about a man who wakes up one morning to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect. The story describes his family's increasing revulsion as his situation becomes ever more disgusting to them as well as to him. "A Hunger Artist" is an existentialist story in which a hunger artist attempts to revive the public's lagging interest in fasting and sells himself as a circus act, only to realize shortly before his death that his interest in fasting was only due to the fact that he had never found the kinds of foods that he liked, and therefore, his fasting was not honorable. Commentary:

Prompts discussion of the ways in which illness can transform, disfigure, and isolate a person. (Susan Bell, Maine)

Although some participants had difficulty with Kafka's writing, for the most part they understood this book as a parable. They used it to talk about the consequences of disfigurement, about the ways in which families' reactions to illness change as it stretches on past the limits of their willingness to accommodate it, and about experiences that might be worse than death. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here King, Stephen "The Reach" Genre: Short Story Source: Stephen King, Skeleton Crew. New York: Signet, 1996. Summary: A short story about an old woman who travels over the frozen reach from the Maine island that she has never left to go to the mainland before she dies. She is accompanied on this journey by ghosts from her past. back to top : you are here back to top : you are here back to top : you are here McNally, Terence A Perfect Ganesh Genre: Play Source: New York: Dramatist's Play Service, January 1994. Summary: Two middle-aged women travel to India after one woman's son dies. Commentary:

Chosen because the play was being performed by a local theater company, this play proved to be one of the strongest readings of our season. The topic of the loss of children and its effect upon the family and community — and the difficulty of recovering-was especially timely for our group. While not presenting a medical situation per se, this marvelous, engaging play (the women are wonderfully drawn) highlights the feelings of helplessness felt by most medical professionals. Highly recommended. (Sydney Landon Plum, Maine)

back to top : you are here Minot, Susan Evening Genre: Novel Source: New York: Knopf, 1998. Summary: A woman on her deathbed from cancer mentally returns to a weekend 40 years prior and re-experiences through her daydreams meeting and then losing the love of her life, a young doctor named Harris Arden. back to top : you are here McFarland, Dennis The Singing Boy Genre: Novel Source: New York: Henry Holt, 2000. Summary: A mystery of sorts, which begins with the random shooting of a husband on a rainy Boston street, witnessed by his wife and eight-year-old son. The novel follows them from the scene of the murder to the emergency room in a Cambridge hospital, then to their home in the Boston area, and finally to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Aside from the relationship between the mother and son, a central character in the book is the man's best friend, a black Vietnam vet who suffers from PTSD and works as an orderly in a hospital. The book ends on a hopeful note, as each of the individuals begins to come to terms with the loss. Commentary:

Even before the meeting to talk about this book, word was out about it. Participants couldn't put it down. (Susan Bell, Maine)

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Moran, Thomas The World I Made For Her Genre: Novel Source: New York: Riverhead Books, 1999. Summary: A young man, totally paralyzed by his body's response to a case of chicken pox, is completely at the mercy of his nurses in the intensive care ward of a New York City hospital. As he has few friends (and those he has are uncomfortable with him), his relationships with the nurses who care for him become his link to life and a means for him to reflect on how he has lived his life. Infatuated with one of the nurses, he creates her life outside the hospital in his mind. Commentary:

Everybody agreed that the portrait of nursing, "warts and all," was accurate, and the various portraits struck a chord with each of the members of the group. The dramatic situation provides a panoply of medical problems-extreme resistance, recovery from paralysis-for consideration. Bring tissues for laughter and tears. My highest recommendation. (Sydney Landon Plum, Maine)

back to top : you are here Olsen, Tillie Tell Me a Riddle Genre: Short Stories Source: New York: Dell, 1961. Summary: The title story in the collection evokes the difficult ending of a woman's life after a long and combative marriage and demanding care of several children. "I Stand Here Ironing" powerfully raises issues about the difficulties of being a poor single parent. Commentary:

"I Stand Here Ironing" - The financial, emotional and social pressure on patients, not always apparent to caregivers, emerged naturally in discussion. Paired with "The Nurse's Story" by Peter Baida. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine)

"Tell Me a Riddle" - A stylistic tour de force about the life and death of a Russian immigrant woman. Especially effective in evoking the complex female experiences of nurturing and motherhood which had submerged the youthful revolutionary ideals of the central character. Without detracting from the integrity of the dying woman, the narrative also represents family dynamics with penetrating accuracy. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

"Tell Me a Riddle" - The story led us to talk about marriage and what constitutes a "good" marriage, how families "work" and how this family's dynamics influenced their responses to and treatment of the woman who is dying, as well as her reflections on her position in the family. The story is beautifully written and provided a strong introduction to the first meeting of the seminar. (Susan Bell, Maine)

back to top : you are here O'Neill, Eugene Long Day's Journey into Night Genre: Play Source: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989 (originally published in 1955). Summary: O'Neill's harrowing play about an alcoholic actor father, a drug-addicted mother, and their adult alcoholic sons, one of whom has tuberculosis. The play is a thinly disguised autobiographical account of O'Neill's experiences in his own Irish family. Commentary:

Participants used this play to discuss co-dependency and other dynamics within families, such as secrecy, denial, and loss. They also used it to think about alcoholism and other forms of addiction and how difficult these are for families and medical care providers to confront. One said that the play made her aware how often she does not deal with addiction with her patients because it is so much easier not to do so. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Paley, Grace "A Man Told Me The Story of His Life" Genre: Short Story Source: Grace Paley, Later the Same Day. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1985. Summary: In this very short piece, a man who was discouraged from becoming a doctor recalls a moment when his knowledge and research helped him tell the doctor what was wrong with his wife, saving her life. back to top : you are here Porter, Katherine Anne Pale Horse, Pale Rider Genre: Novella Source: Pale Horse, Pale Rider (Three Novellas by Katharine Anne Porter). Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanavich, 1990 (originally published in 1939). Summary: A beautifully written, semi-autobiographical novella set during the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 at the end of World War I. The story is told by a young woman reporter who finds herself surrounded by (and becoming numb to) illness and death; funerals for victims of influenza and fallen soldiers from the war are on every street corner, and hospitals are overwhelmed with patients. She herself becomes gravely ill, and as this happens, the narrative takes on a feverish, dreamlike quality. Pair with Ellen Bryant Voigt's collection of poems dealing with the pandemic, Kyrie. Commentary:

Most of the participants loved this reading. One said it was the most beautiful piece of writing she'd read in years. The ending was a surprise to most, who expected that Miranda would be the one to die. We talked about the tragedy of early death, the loss of so much youth and promise, and compared the 1918 flu to the contemporary HIV/AIDS crisis. The discussion also touched on the consequences for medical care when it is both overloaded and unable to heal the sick. This discussion moved back and forth in time as well as between the text and the participants' experiences (one or two of the individuals in the group told family stories about the 1918 epidemic). (Susan Bell, Maine)

We found the narrator's situation ironic, in that she in a way causes her lover's death, by infecting him. We also focused on the issue of survivor's guilt, but spent more time talking about the difficulties of reading the story, because of the handling of point of view. (Michael Burke, Maine)

back to top : you are here Potok, Chaim The Chosen Genre: Novel Source: New York: Fawcett Crest, 1967. Summary: The story of two Jewish boys-one Hasidic, one Orthodox — and their fathers in Brooklyn, New York in the 1940s, their conflicts with one another as tales of the Holocaust begin to be uncovered, and the two boys' movement into adulthood while clashing with their fathers about the religious paths they are about to pursue. The novel includes some early chapters dealing with an eye injury to one of the boys and his surgery and hospitalization. Commentary:

Literature & Medicine groups, including my own, respond very powerfully and positively to issues of diversity and conflicts of culture in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. However, there is a great deal more diversity even within our groups than is readily apparent. The Chosen not only brings such issues to light, illuminating deep divisions within a religious culture ordinarily thought to be homogenized, but it also provides an absorbing story of the deliberate development of empathy in a brilliant but emotionally detached child. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine)

back to top : you are here Querry, Ronald Bad Medicine Genre: Novel Source: New York: Bantam, 1998. Summary: This novel is based on an actual hantavirus outbreak that took place in the Southwestern U.S. in 1993. It retells the events as medical mystery, as ghost story, and as meditation on the relationship between rationalist Western medicine and the beliefs of indigenous cultures. Commentary:

This book raised some good questions for the group: How do cultural differences shape perspectives on healing? What is the relationship between Western and Native American perspectives on healing? Can the multiple origins of disease include the spiritual, as well as the ecological, social, historical and biological? (Lisa Walker, Maine)

back to top : you are here Quindlen, Anna Black and Blue Genre: Novel Source: New York: Random House, 2000. Summary: A young mother escapes an abusive marriage and begins a new life in Florida. Although she is haunted by the fear that her ex-husband will find her, she eventually begins to regain her confidence and get her life back. Commentary:

Some participants did not find the novel "literary" enough, but all agreed it was an excellent account of living with domestic abuse and the deleterious effects it has on families. Issues and challenges of dealing with patients who continue to live in domestic violence situations despite the resources available to them dominated the discussion. (Muriel Fish, Maine)

back to top : you are here Salzman, Mark Lying Awake Genre: Novel Source: New York: Vintage, 2001. Summary: A novel about a contemplative nun whose crisis of faith leads to visions that inspire her to write powerful poetry, but who discovers that these visions are likely the result of a brain tumor that is easily cured by surgery. See also: Salon.com online interview with Salzman, Jan. 10, 2001. Commentary:

Raised powerful questions about spirituality, the brain, community, and faith; good discussion that was of particular interest in a Catholic hospital. Paired well with Lisel Mueller's poem, "Monet Refuses the Operation." (Betsy Hart, Maine)

This book raised many issues: What is disease? What is the nature of spirituality? Is a cure always preferable to an illness? Participants especially admired the quality of the writing of this short novel, as well as Salzman's sympathetic portrait of a religious woman-without any hint of postmodern irony. What worked particularly well in the discussion was the issue of how Salzman came to write the book, a process that took many years. He finally was able to finish it when he acknowledged the similarity between himself and his subject: both, he felt, persisted because they had faith-irrational and illogical though its foundations were. We talked at some length about how all of us need that faith in what we're doing. I suggest that facilitators who use the book read some of Salzman's interviews and the profile of him in The New Yorker, Vol. 76, Issue 29 (Oct. 2, 2000), p. 74. (Margery Irvine, Maine)

The book raised these questions: Is there a balance between reality and illusion, the spiritual and the material, faith and self-interest? What are the parallels between the religious life and the culture of medicine? When cure and loss are a patient's only alternatives, on what does she base her decisions? (Lisa Walker, Maine)

back to top : you are here Sarton, May As We Are Now Genre: Novel Source: New York: Norton, 1982. Summary/Commentary: In this short novel, an elderly woman is a consigned to a (very bad) nursing home by her relatives. Periods of despair, depression, and deteriorating physical and mental condition lead her to burn down the nursing home, thereby killing herself and the occupants. One of the participants voiced the most important issue raised by the book: What is it like to grow old in America? Much of the session's discussion focused on that question and the concomitant questions of nursing home care, funding for the aged, and finally, suicide and euthanasia. Although the participants criticized the book for its melodrama and over-simplification, they also felt that Sarton had accurately represented the feelings of many old people. Fortunately, our group included one woman in her late seventies, who was able to talk honestly and intimately about her own experience of growing old in America. Paired with: Arna Bontemps, "A Summer Tragedy;" Doris Grumbach, "Coming Into the End Zone" and "What It's Really Like to Grow Old;" Phillip Larkin, "The Old Fools;" Grace Paley, "Questions" and "My Father at 89." (Margery Irvine, Maine) back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Shakespeare, William Hamlet Genre: Play Source: New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Summary/Commentary: Shakespeare's classic tragedy about a prince who sets out to avenge his father's death. Hamlet evokes questions about what constitutes ethical behavior, and how much one should listen to the ghosts of one's mind, particularly when dealing with issues of mental illness. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine) back to top : you are here Shakespeare, William King Lear Genre: Play Source: New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. Summary: The aging Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his daughters, basing his decision on their demonstration of love for him. In doing so, he forsakes the daughter who loves him most. Later, finding himself powerless, disrespected, and at the mercy of his daughters, he goes mad as he realizes his foolishness. Commentary:

The play is enormously rich in its portrayal of age and family dynamics. It illuminates the possibility for personal transformation at any stage of life as well as the depth of understanding leading into and even out of madness and depression. The group was elevated by reading and discussing Shakespeare; they welcomed the challenge and the stunning language. Interestingly, the discussion also allowed the group members to consider their own family dynamics in a literary context. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine)

back to top : you are here Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony Genre: Novel Source: New York: Penguin, 1977. Summary: Ceremony is Silko's portrayal of Tayo, an emotionally wounded Native American soldier just back from fighting in World War II. Tayo makes his way home from the VA hospital where he is treated as insubstantial and where his Native American heritage is considered dangerous superstition. In response to his treatment, he begins to experience himself as existing somewhere between worlds in the form of a "white smoke," and eventually searches for something to heal what is damaged inside him. By his grandmother's arrangement, Tayo eventually submits to ritual healing. The ceremonial journey draws upon the power of the heritage and ancestry he and his Native American peers challenged when fighting the suspect war. Commentary:

Ceremony is an effective work. Readers came away from the ritual as exhausted as Tayo. Significantly, some found it hard to see the journey through to its conclusion. Those who did were duly rewarded. Silko deals interestingly with most of the predictable issues-race relations, governmental responsibility, mainstream versus traditional medicine. We paired Ceremony with Ernest Hemingway's "Indian Camp," which helped illustrate the idea that involvement with another culture sometimes leads to philosophical uncertainty. (John Zavodny, Maine)

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Strauss, David Chang and Eng Genre: Novel Source: New York: Dutton, 2000. Summary: A novel about the lives of the nineteenth-century's most famous conjoined twins, who were born in Thailand, brought to the United States, and exhibited to the public, narrated by one of the brothers. Later they married sisters in North Carolina and became prosperous farmers and the fathers of numerous children. Commentary:

Participants found this story bizarre, yet compelling. Discussion centered around how much of the story was true, particularly when I shared with them details from Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace, The Two: A Biography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), which is a conventional biography. They were particularly interested in the personalities of the two men and wondered whether Eng, the narrator, would have been just as unhappy with his life had they been able to be separated. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Tolstoy, Leo Death of Ivan Illych Genre: Novella Source: New York: Signet Classic, 2003 Summary: The story of the death of a man, Ivan Illyich, who has not lived well, and how he comes to term with his own death. Commentary:

Great discussion flowed out of this. People didn't like Ivan, but did admire and understand how he finally reconciled at the end, and they found this had a great deal of relevance for them, in terms of how they saw end of life care unfold around them. (Michael Burke, Maine)

back to top : you are here Updike, John "At War With My Skin" Genre: Short Story Source: John Updike, The Journal of a Leper. New York: Knopf, 1976. Summary: "At War With My Skin" is based on Updike's own chronic, serious skin disease. A potter, suffering from psoriasis, goes from having bad self-esteem due to his skin condition, but a successful career and love life, to clearing his skin with a dermatologist but losing both his career and his girlfriend. Commentary:

Part of a session on "Life Cycles," paired with Tillie Olsen, "Tell Me a Riddle," and Mary Oliver, "University Hospital, Boston." The three selections were the most eclectic of all those I chose. I'd recommend pairing the Olsen and Oliver and asking folks in the seminar also to read the other short stories in Olsen that also directly address the topic of "life cycles." Updike is powerful but didn't fit well with the Oliver and the Olsen.

back to top : you are here Winterson, Jeanette Written on the Body Genre: Novel Source: New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Summary: A philosophical love story about a woman diagnosed with cancer, her physician husband, and her affair with the narrator, who is given neither name nor gender. Commentary:

This novel provoked intense discussion, as participants found themselves quite disturbed by the author's refusal to identify the narrator's sex. Some were adamant that the narrator was a woman, while others were equally adamant that the narrator was a man. The reasons offered by both sides revealed a good deal to all of them about gender assumptions; they found their own reactions to having this most basic aspect of identity omitted quite destabilizing. Because the husband also offers the most up-to-date treatment for the woman's cancer, the novel also allowed participants to consider what constitutes the best care for illness and who should make decisions about that care. Participants were unanimous in concluding that quality of life mattered more than length, in spite of their sense of their obligations as professionals. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

This novel can be used for discussions of love and loss together with sexual difference. Its unorthodox narrative form presents a challenge to readers, but many participants could appreciate the lyrical prose. (Eve Raimon, Maine)

back to top : you are here Williams, Tennessee Suddenly Last Summer Genre: Play Source: New York: New American Library, 1958. Summary: A young woman who has seen the violent death of her cousin is placed in an insane asylum by her family because she cannot hold what she saw inside her. Her aunt, the deceased's mother, wishes for her niece to have a lobotomy. The play deals with issues of violence and sexual exploitation, as well as questions of what constitutes sanity.

Poetry

back to top : you are here Angelou, Maya "The Last Decision" Source: Maya Angelou, Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? New York: Random House, 1983. Summary/Commentary: A poem about a woman who chooses to make her own decisions as she approaches death. This poem didn't generate much discussion; a lot of time was spent on William Carlos Williams' poem "Birth," and the two short stories ( William Carlos Williams' "The Use of Force" and Doris Grumbach's "Coming Into the End Zone") with which it was paired. It might be better to use in a discussion focused solely on issues of death and dying. (Muriel Fish, Maine) back to top : you are here Auden, W.H. Selected Poetry of W.H. Auden Source: New York: Vintage, 1958. Summary: Includes "Funeral Blues," "Musee des Beaux Arts," "Letter to a Wound," and "Surgical War." The poems explore death, mourning, and the isolation experienced by the sick. back to top : you are here Brooks, Gwendolyn "The Bean Eaters" Source: Gwendolyn Brooks, Blacks. Chicago: Third World Press, 1991. Summary/Commentary: Aged couple in reduced circumstances have only each other, their memories, and-ambiguously-"fringes" to occupy their time. Brooks celebrates the passing of a street character with wit and humanity, in a rich rhythmic tradition. (Karin Dillman, Maine)

"The Bean Eaters" was paired with Pablo Neruda, "Larynx;" Josephine Miles, "The Doctor Who Sits at the Bedside of a Rat" and "Sheep;" Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night;" Sharon Olds, "Miscarriage;" and Philip Larkin, "Faith Healing." All of these poems went over fairly well, but the truly outstanding discussions centered on "Miscarriage" and "Faith Healing." We discussed the poems in one long evening, our last session. Saving poetry for last was my choice, and I'm glad I did-people were better readers by then, and even those who thought that they weren't "good at" poetry did understand and enjoy it on the whole. (Allison Wallace, Maine)

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Carver, Raymond "Gravy" Source: Raymond Carver, All Of Us: The Collected Poems. New York: Knopf, 1998. Summary/Commentary: The poet expresses his gratitude for ten years of life and love that he hadn't expected. Generated reflection on what people are grateful for in their lives and what makes life worthwhile, as well as discussion of alcoholism and sobriety. (Betsy Hart, Maine) back to top : you are here Carver, Raymond A New Path to the Waterfall Source: New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1990. Summary/Commentary: This collection includes the poems, "Late Fragment," "Letter," and "What the Doctor Said." "Late Fragment" is an extremely short, yet powerful and moving tribute to existence. "What the Doctor Said" describes a brief encounter in which the poet learns of his diagnosis of lung cancer, and evokes the mysteries of the human spirit facing mortality and the bewildering limitations of words. (Betsy Hart, Maine) back to top : you are here Ciardi, John "Washing Your Feet" Source: John Ciardi, Collected Poems. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1984. Summary: The difficulty even a simple task may pose under conditions of obesity (or illness or disability). The poet invokes the images of ritual involved in foot washing, including the ballet dancers of Degas. back to top : you are here Cowper, William "The Cast-Away" Source: The Poems of William Cowper, Volume II: 1782-1785. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000. Summary/Commentary: This remarkable poem uses the image of a drowning man as a metaphorical exploration of suicidal depression. Cowper was deeply depressed all his adult life. Evangelical Christianity and supportive friends enabled Cowper not only to live with deep depression but also to write poetry and hymns for years. "The "Cast-Away" is a gripping account of his mental anguish immediately recognizable even in the age of anti-depressants. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine) back to top : you are here cummings, e. e "When God Lets My Body Be" Source: e.e. cummings, Complete Poems. New York: Liveright, 1994. Summary: A beautiful short poem about the immortality of the body in nature, even after death. Invokes images of death not as finality, but as a springboard for new life and regeneration. back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Dickinson, Emily Selected Poems Source: Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1976. Summary: This volume includes "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," "Death is like the Insect," "The heart asks pleasure first," "I felt a cleavage in my mind," "I felt a funeral in my brain," "I heard a fly buzz when I died," "Just lost when I was saved," "Much madness is divinest sense," "My life closed twice," "Pain has an element of blank." Commentary:

"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is a characterization of death as a gentleman escorting a lady rather than the classic fearful figure with black cloak and scythe. There is a courtliness here in the interaction between the two, and Dickinson's precise use of language complements Donne's. I used this with John Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" and Margaret Edson's W;t as another aspect of the way death has been viewed over the centuries. (Ann Fogg, Maine)

back to top : you are here Donne, John Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Source: Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1975. Summary: Donne's classic work, which consists of 23 devotions of meditation and prayer exploring his experience of typhus. Donne explores the connection between the spiritual and physical implications of his illness, including the role of sin in physical illness. Commentary:

Sonnets V and VI - The early English was somewhat of a challenge to the participants, many of whom could not figure out what Donne was saying; however, when it was put into contemporary English the relevance was clear. Paired with the Margaret Edson play W;t. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

back to top : you are here Donne, John "Death Be Not Proud" Source: Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the 17th Century. Ed. J.C. Herbert Grierson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921. Summary/Commentary: This Holy Sonnet is Donne's classic ode to the eternal life of the spirit and the spirit's ability to "cheat" death by never succumbing to it. In it, Donne wittily reduces Death from the famous macabre equalizer to a pitifully ineffective creature. He argues with Death like the law student he once was. (At great pressure from King James I, he finally renounced his Catholic faith and became an Anglican priest, eventually Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral.) Combined with Margaret Edson's play, W;t, discussion of the poem centered on its punctuation, an issue raised in the play. One member of the group made the interesting contribution that her husband, a Donne scholar, says the semi-colon was not used in Donne's time. This work framed much of our discussion about illness for the next sessions; Donne's words were referred to frequently thereafter. We read "Death Be Not Proud" aloud numerous times, until Donne's words became ours, his meaning, ours. Discussion focused on modern medicine's approach to death. A profound experience. (Elizabeth Cooke, Maine) back to top : you are here Doty, Mark "Tiara" Source: Turtle, Swan & Bethlehem in Broad Daylight: Two Volumes of Poetry. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Summary: A poem about a man dying from AIDS complications and risk-taking as the only way to live life fully. back to top : you are here Frazer, Vernon "What Am I?" Source: East Hartford, CT: Vernon Frazer, 1998. Available online at www.ddonin.com/Dammed.htm. Summary/Commentary: Poetic ruminations on illness, hypochondria, and the link between the behaviors of humans and animals. (Robert Schaible, Maine) back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Harper, Michael S. "Nightmare Begins Responsibility" Source: Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep. Ed. Michael S. Harper & Anthony Walton. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1994. Summary: An African American father watches his seriously ill newborn treated in the all-white hospital. Commentary:

Fears based on experiences and cultural memories of treatment of blacks by whites haunt the father in the poem. The care of the attending physician makes him see that experience and knowledge of history can harden into stereotype and cause unnecessary fear. (Karin Dillman, Maine)

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Hoagland, Tony "Lucky" Source: Tony Hoagland, The Donkey Gospel. St. Paul: Graywolf, 1998. Summary/Commentary: The interchange between a son and his ailing mother. The roles of parent and child are reversed here, with the son bathing, feeding, and carrying his mother. However, the son sees this caretaking not simply as his responsibility to his mother, but as winning the final battle in a power struggle that has come between them. I recommend Tony Hoagland's "Lucky" for anyone interested in exploring power relationships in caregiver/patient interchange. (Peter Harris, Maine) back to top : you are here Howe, Marie "The Last Time" Source: Marie Howe, What the Living Do. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998. Commentary:

A quietly powerful poem describing the last conversation the speaker has with her dying brother. This poem calls into question our fear of the dying, and suggests that it is really the lack of acceptance of our own inevitable deaths that frightens us. (Lizz Sinclair, Maine)

back to top : you are here Stephen Mitchell, Trans. The Book of Job Source: New York: HarperCollins, 1979. Summary/Commentary: Mitchell's translation of The Book of Job is both accessible and beautiful, making full use of the vivid and powerful imagery of the original. His introduction provides historical context as well as philosophical lucidity. Job is one of the earliest texts in Western culture to deal with the issue of suffering. Too often, people think they know what the book has to say and they assume that it counsels patience and religious practice in the face of acute pain and suffering. In fact, The Book of Job provides a number of responses, chief among them Job's defiance and insistence upon a direct hearing from God. Reading and discussing some of the great texts in our culture may be intimidating, but participants enjoy working with important literature and discovering its freshness and relevance. (Ruth Nadelhaft, Maine)

A beautiful translation of Job's struggle to understand why God has caused him to suffer, first the loss of his family and property and then bodily. Job, a righteous man, must endure his friends' efforts to convince him that he has sinned; he only comes to terms with his suffering when he encounters what Mitchell terms the Whirlwind. Paired with Barbara Ehrenreich, "Welcome to Cancerland." While some participants had difficulty reading the Bible as a literary text rather than as the word of God, all appreciated the beauty of Mitchell's translation. Participants found this a profound statement of the impossibility of understanding the meaning of suffering. With the Ehrenreich, the book allowed them to think about the balance between rage and acceptance as responses to illness. They commented that this book, like other classics, allowed them to talk about themes that transcend the present moment. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Kenyon, Jane Otherwise: New and Selected Poems Source: St. Paul: Graywolf, 1996. Summary: Several poems have been selected from this collection, including "Having It Out With Melancholy," about depression; "The Sick Wife," about how ordinary life is transformed by illness; and "Chrysanthemums." Often paired with Donald Hall's collection of poems, Without. Commentary:

"Back," "Now Where?" and "Let Evening Come" — The poet addresses a personified depression that has been a constant in her life. For this session, a participant brought in a videotape of Jane Kenyon and more of her poems for the discussion. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

"Having It Out With Melancholy," "Back," and "Now Where?" — The poet takes us to the depths of her depression and reveals the moments when she finds her way back to the small pleasures of everydayness and the fleeting joys that survival offers. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

"Having It Out With Melancholy" - This powerful poem led to a discussion of depression and mental illness in general. There was an appreciation in the group for the way Kenyon takes on depression, characterizing it as a demon which has controlled her from birth, hanging around, always ready (like a satanic angel) to rescue her from her rare periods of joy. Paired with John Hockenberry's Moving Violations to broaden the scope of the disabilities discussion. The general reaction was that while people with mental illness meet their share of prejudices, their disabilities are often less visible, and therefore less open to misunderstanding, than physical disabilities. (Ann Fogg, Maine)

back to top : you are here Kovner, Abba Sloan-Kettering: Poems (Trans. Eddie Levenson) Source: New York: Schocken, 2002. Summary: Kovner was an Israeli poet who went to Sloan-Kettering for treatment for cancer of the larnyx, thus becoming a poet who literally had no voice. The poems describe his experiences in the hospital, including several inspired by anesthesia that recall his days in the Polish resistance against the Nazis. Commentary:

Although some participants walked into the session not quite sure what to think about these poems, the process of reading selected poems aloud and then discussing them offered a group not necessarily comfortable with poetry a way to appreciate its beauty and force. They found this a notably uplifting book, appreciating Kovner's ability to create beauty and meaning of the ending of his life. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Larkin, Philip "Faith Healing" Source: Philip Larkin, The Whitsun Wedding. New York: Faber & Faber, 1964. Commentary:

Set at a religious event at which lines of women approach a male faith healer, the poem sympathizes less with the healer's claims to be able to help specific maladies than it does with the women's deep need to have him address the greatest malady of all: a sense of not having known enough love. See Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Bean Eaters," for further commentary. (Allison Wallace, Maine)

back to top : you are here Lee, Li-Young "From Blossoms" Source: Li-Young Lee, Rose. Brockport, N.Y.: Boa Editions, 1986. Summary/Commentary: A collection of poems by a poet of Chinese ancestry. The poems deal with issues of acculturation, cultural identity, aging, and family relationships, among others. This poem creates with words the taste of a peach on a summer day, proclaiming "There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background." The group loved this poem; paired well with Rachel Naomi Remen's Kitchen Table Wisdom. Both help us to see the healing that occurs when we are fully present. Great when your group needs something that is both profound and uplifting. (Betsy Hart, Maine) back to top : you are here Levertov, Denise "Daybreak" Summary/Commentary: A poet's early morning musings lead her to see her deceased father in a new way. The poem illustrates how the creative human mind finds meaning in the seeming minutiae of everyday life. It also tells us that grieving is a process requiring time and space. (Karin Dillman, Maine) back to top : you are here Lowell, Robert "Sick" Source: Robert Lowell, Selected Poems. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1944. Summary: A powerful portrayal of the poet's struggle with bipolar disorder. (Betsy Hart, Maine) back to top : you are here back to top : you are here back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Miles, Josephine "Sheep" Source: Josephine Miles: Collected Poems, 1930-1983. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. Summary/Commentary: Having had her heart x-rayed, the speaker reflects upon all that is not in the picture: "the green pastures...the running streams of tears in their salty waters," and so on, playing on the sense of the word "heart" as the seat of the emotions. See Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Bean Eaters," for further commentary. (Allison Wallace, Maine) back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Mueller, Lisel "Monet Refuses His Operation" Source: Lisel Mueller, Alive Together: New and Selected Poems. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996. Summary/Commentary: The poet wonders if a visual impairment might have contributed to Monet's genius. An excellent complement to Mark Salzman's Lying Awake, as both raise the questions of what gifts might be brought to us through illness. (Betsy Hart, Maine) back to top : you are here Neruda, Pablo "Larynx" Source: Pablo Neruda, Extravagaria. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974. Summary/Commentary: The speaker goes through the anxious experience of believing he has a terminal illness, but finds he does not. His reaction to the news that he will live is, surprisingly, not simple relief. See Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Bean Eaters," for further commentary. (Allison Wallace, Maine) back to top : you are here Nye, Naomi Shihab "Kindness" Source: Naomi Shihab Nye, Words Under the Words. Portland, OR: Far Corner Books, 1995. Commentary:

A Palestinian-American poet ponders the subtle aspects of the human experience in this collection of poetry. She addresses difficult topics like war with grace and wit. This powerful poem helps us to see ourselves in the suffering of a dead Indian, reflecting that "Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing." Did not generate much conversation but was a wonderful complement to Naomi Shihab Nye's novel, Montana. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

back to top : you are here Sharon Olds "Miscarriage" Source: Sharon Olds, The Dead and the Living. New York: Random House, 1985. Commentary:

Using imagery reminiscent of both evolutionary and Biblical theories of the origins of life (and of the "mistake" she sees in the latter explanation), the speaker reflects upon a bloody visit to the bathroom, in which she loses a fetus. See Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Bean Eaters," for further commentary. (Allison Wallace, Maine)

back to top : you are here Owen, Wilfred The Poems of Wilfred Owen Source: New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1986. Summary: The British poet Wilfred Owen was killed just before WORLD WAR I ended. Although he had written poetry before going to war, it was his experiences in the trenches that inspired his most powerful work. During the war he suffered from shell shock and was sent to recuperate at a Scottish hospital where he met and was encouraged by fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon. Pair with Pat Barker's novel, Regeneration. Commentary:

His poems are stirring tributes to soldiers and powerful indictments of the losses brought about by war. Participants wanted to read his poems out loud but were unable to talk about them because of the horrific images in them. (Susan Bell, Maine)

Many of our readers have an initial aversion to poetry, but pairing poems with fiction and non-fiction works demonstrates how poetry illuminates the deep emotions and psychological insights found there. Owen's poems are a horribly accurate representation of the true situation of men at war. (Sydney Landon Plum, Maine)

We read Pat Barker's Regeneration and "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen along with Jeanne Bryner's poem, "This Red Oozing," in a session entitled "Violence and War." We began by reading the Bryner poem aloud, followed by Owen's. Discussion ranged from analysis of post-traumatic stress syndrome, to the role (seen as limited or compromised) of the caregiver in such situations. (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

back to top : you are here Piercy, Marge "The Long Death" Source: Marge Piercy, The Moon is Always Female. New York: Knopf, 1980. Summary: A nine-stanza poem (fifty-seven lines) about a slow and painful death from radiation exposure. The poet wonders why people only focus on their illness instead of attempting to confront those responsible for it. back to top : you are here Piercy, Marge "My Mother's Body" Source: Marge Piercy, My Mother's Body. New York: Knopf, 1985. Summary: In this title piece, the poet outlines her attempt to deal with her mother's death, from discussing the funeral to going through her mother's things and remembering times when she and her mother disagreed. back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Plath, Sylvia "Lady Lazarus" Source: Sylvia Plath, Ariel. New York: Harper and Row, 1966. Summary: A 30-year-old woman chillingly describes her three suicide attempts. This collection foreshadows Plath's suicide at the age of 31. back to top : you are here Sassoon, Siegfried The War Poems Source: New York: Faber and Faber, 1993. Summary/Commentary: Sassoon's poems, about the horror of infantry combat during World War I, are often sarcastic and bitter. However, Sassoon elegantly captures the ways British soldiers relinquished their innocence in combat. Pair with poems by Wilfred Owen and Pat Barker's novel, Regeneration. back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Sassoon, Siegfried Collected Poems of Siegfried Sasson Source: New York: Faber & Faber, 1986. Summary: A collection of Sassoon's World War I poems, most of them bitter denunciations of officers and those who sent them into war. Commentary:

We read "The Rear-Guard," "Spring Offensive," "Prayer for those on the Staff," "Died of Wounds," and "Does It Matter?" The poems prompted discussions of how veterans of Vietnam felt about their officers, and how these veterans needed to tell stories to the health care providers, as a means of resolving guilt. (Michael Burke, Maine)

back to top : you are here Voigt, Ellen Bryant Kyrie Source: New York: Norton, 1995. Summary: Poems about the great flu pandemic of 1919. Pair with Katherine Ann Porter's Pale Horse, Pale Rider. back to top : you are here Walker, Alice "Medicine" Source: Alice Walker, Once. New York: Harcourt-Brace, 1968. Commentary:

An adult's recollection of the passionate love between her elderly grandparents, a love that sustains them even through the pain of illness and old age. A beautiful, simple tale. Though it did not generate much discussion, the group loved reading it. A poem that reveals that which is therapeutic may have little to do with medicine. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

back to top : you are here Whyte, David "The Well of Grief" Source: David Whyte, Close to Home. Langley, WA: Many Rivers, 1990. Commentary:

Beautiful in its simplicity, this poem plunges below "the still surface on the well of grief" to find "the source from which we drink." Did not generate much discussion, but the group loved reading it. A beautiful and redemptive poem that examines the connection between grief and joy. Paired with Kathleen Finneran's book, The Tenderland. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

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Non-Fiction

back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Bauby, Jean-Dominique The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Genre: Memoir Source: New York: Knopf, 1997. Summary: Memoir written by the young editor of a French fashion magazine who suffered a stroke that left him only able to blink one eye. Commentary:

One of the most moving readings of the series, though not necessarily one that generated discussion beyond appreciation. The almost unimaginable situation of someone at the peak of his career as an editor in Paris being condemned by a stroke to virtually total paralysis but full consciousness was surpassed only by the miracle that the narrator was able to find a way (through a dedicated therapist and assistant) to dictate this autobiography. Paired with Kenyon's "Having It Out With Melancholy" and Cisneros' "Arturo Burro." (Kathy Ashley, Maine)

This beautifully written and sobering work raised questions about the end of life, about the nature of paralysis and the care offered to such a patient, and about a person's will to live. Participants responded with awe at the artful writing and the courageous story. As with every work, we read aloud passages at the start in order to bring the author's words alive and into the room. (Elizabeth Cooke, Maine)

back to top : you are here Beck, Martha Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic Genre: Personal narrative Source: New York: Berkley, 2000. Summary: The author explores her and her husband's decision to carry to term and raise their son, who was diagnosed in utero with Down's syndrome. back to top : you are here back to top : you are here Cousins, Norman Analysis of an Illness as Perceived by a Patient Genre: Personal narrative Source: New York: Bantam, 1981. Summary: The author's account of taking his healing into his own hands, and the benefits that followed quickly after his decision to attend to his body's signals and instincts, not necessarily only the recommendations of his physicians. Commentary:

Personal account of triumph over severe illness by a gifted writer. Explores the mind's ability to influence the body's health. (Esther Rauch, Maine)

back to top : you are here DeBaggio, Thomas Losing My Mind: An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's Genre: Personal narrative Source: New York: Free Press, 2002. Summary: DeBaggio began this book almost immediately after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 57. He chronicles his increasing losses by describing his frustration, depression, concerns for his family, and efforts to share his understanding of his experiences with others. The writing in some sense parallels his increasing debility, which adds to its interest and sadness. Commentary:

Participants appreciated this illness narrative from the inside, recognizing that we rarely read accounts of the loss of intellectual abilities. We all puzzled about DeBaggio's seeming inability to imagine his illness from the perspective of his wife and wondered about the extent to which the book had been edited by others. All of this made for fascinating discussion, with comparisons to Lauren Slater's Lying, among others. (Marli Weiner, Maine)

back to top : you are here Ehrenreich, Barbara "Welcome to Cancerland" Genre: Essay Source: Harper's Magazine, November 2001. Summary: This article is a scathing attack on the corporate nature of what cultural theorist Ehrenreich calls our contemporary "breast cancer culture." It argues that corporate America has infantilized women with pink bows and teddy bears to mask the much more difficult and threatening issue of environmental pollution and its relations to various cancers. Commentary:

Group members found the author's tone strident but the article provoked meaningful discussion. (Eve Raimon, Maine)

back to top : you are here Ehrlich, Gretel A Match to the Heart: One Woman's Story of Being Struck By Lightning Genre: Personal narrative Source: New York: Penguin, 1995. Summary: Nature writer Ehrlich writes of her life after being struck by lightning near her Wyoming ranch. She finds it difficult for her ailments to be properly diagnosed and her memoir challenges the medical world to create new methods of measuring electrical injuries. Commentary:

This is the rather lyrical recounting of the author's experiences after being struck by lightning. This was our least successful reading. The book is difficult to read, but that had been the case with other texts. I think people gave up on the book because there wasn't a sense that the author was getting anywhere, with her understanding of her physical condition or with getting better. Furthermore, all of our other readings had revealed something about the connections between people that illness makes, or breaks. However, Ehrlich is a loner and remains so throughout. We would not recommend this book to other groups. (Sydney Landon Plum, Maine)

back to top : you are here Fadiman, Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Genre: Non-fiction Source: New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998

(For annotation see Social Perspectives and Policy, Non-fiction)

back to top : you are here Finneran, Kathleen The Tender Land: A Family Love Story Genre: Memoir Source: New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Summary: A beautifully written memoir about an Irish Catholic family that suffers through the suicide of the author's brother at age 15. Through a long accumulation of love and family memories, family members are able to work through their grief by maintaining their bonds with one another. Commentary:

This memoir by a young woman whose brother committed suicide at age 15 after being ridiculed at school is an intimate portrayal of her Catholic family and its grief. Our discussion was deep and challenging, though some found the book could have benefited from editing to pare it down. (Betsy Hart, Maine)

back to top : you are here Frank, Arthur The Wounded Storyteller Genre: Personal narrative Source: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.