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In "At the Will of the Body", Arthur Frank told the story of his own illnesses, heart attack and cancer. That book ended by describing the existence of a "remission society", whose members all live with some form of illness or disability. "The Wounded Storyteller" is their collective portrait. Frank suggests that ill people are more than victims of disease or patients of medicine; they are wounded storytellers. People tell stories to make sense of their suffering; when they turn their diseases into stories, they find healing. Drawing on the work of authors such as Oliver Sacks, Anatole Broyard, Norman Cousins and Audre Lorde, as well as from people he met during the years he spent among different illness groups, Frank recounts a collection of illness stories, ranging from the well-known - such as Gilda Radner's battle with ovarian cancer - to the private testimonials of people with cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome and disabilties. Their stories are more than accounts of personal suffering: they abound with moral choices and point to a social ethic. Frank identifies three basic narratives of illness in restitution, chaos and quest. Restitution narratives anticipate getting well again and give prominence to the technology of cure. In chaos narratives, illness seems to stretch on forever, with no respite or redeeming insights. Quest narratives are about finding that insight as illness is transformed into a means for the ill person to become someone new.
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"The destination and map I had used to navigate before were no longer useful." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"The destination and map I had used to navigate before were no longer useful." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Arthur Frank, a professor of sociology who has experienced serious illness, writes in the light of his experience. He describes the illness story as starting with a wreckage caused by the storm of disease where both map and destination are lost. The story functions as the repair work and as a search for a new map. The narrator struggles to reconnect with the past and to regain coherence in his life as he tries to make sense of existence in a wounded body. Frank explores the problems this presents and the range of possible responses.
Although people, especially those with chronic illness, do not choose their bodies they are responsible for them and their choices of action. Frank describes the communicative body which shares, maintains and creates itself through stories as providing an ethical ideal for living with illness. The sufferer has something to teach and something to give.
Our moral duty is to listen to the voices of those who suffer, to remain with their narratives, to feel the nuances, to be sensitive to the shifts and changes and thus achieve empathy with the narrator. Within this moral act new meanings may be generated, new route maps found the the story transformed.
I found this book a challenging read, hopefully offering inspiration to those who are chronically ill and insight and knowledge to those who listen their stories.
Although people, especially those with chronic illness, do not choose their bodies they are responsible for them and their choices of action. Frank describes the communicative body which shares, maintains and creates itself through stories as providing an ethical ideal for living with illness. The sufferer has something to teach and something to give.
Our moral duty is to listen to the voices of those who suffer, to remain with their narratives, to feel the nuances, to be sensitive to the shifts and changes and thus achieve empathy with the narrator. Within this moral act new meanings may be generated, new route maps found the the story transformed.
I found this book a challenging read, hopefully offering inspiration to those who are chronically ill and insight and knowledge to those who listen their stories.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Life Is A Group Grope
13 July 2000
Format:Paperback
Frank's novel does a masterful job in identifying the "voice" we all need in the battle with life threatnening illness. Embracing and affirming the "whole person" through their storytelling goes far in overcoming the modernist approach in treating the illness without the person. Recognizing the struggle as an opportunity for journey also sounds the call to help others currently in the trenches to bring about healing. This is a beautiful book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
On becoming the brother of all who suffer
15 Feb 2009
Format:Paperback
This is an extremely moving book on what it means to have a serious illness, such as cancer, and on why our coming to grips with this requires telling our story to others.
When we are struck by an illness like cancer, our sense of having a meaningful past, present, and future is often severely damaged. Before cancer, if someone had asked us to tell our life story, we would have told it with a certain belief that the past led rationally to where we are, and that our future will be a reasonable result of the same journey that we have been on since we were born. But with cancer, it's very difficult to make sense of the reasonableness of something that has just happened, in spite of the life we've led that was supposed to lead to a different present, and one that we thought would lead to our future dreams. Now, all of that is shattered, and the rest of our future will be uncertain.
In order to mend ourselves, we need to embark on a journey in which we tell our stories. Not once, but over and over. There are many versions of our stories. When we are giving medical history to a doctor or nurse, it's one kind of story, essentially focusing on the medical facts. When we tell a friend or loved one, personal details may be added. Over time, some pieces of the past become minimized in our stories, and other concerns need to be expanded upon. As we tell and retell our story, we resuture our broken selves, reintegrate our past selves with this new wounded present self, and make possible a new future self with new dreams. We become emotionally healthy, in spite of the physical ordeals we may still need to endure. We need to tell our stories for our sake, and we need to share them with others, for their sake.
In addition to telling our own story, we need to listen to the stories of others, so that we can gain in perspective and wisdom. We are enriched by hearing about the paths that others have trod in coping with cancer. And in the process, for those who are ill, as well as for those who listen, life can once more be enchanting.
One of the most poignant quotes in the book is by Albert Schweitzer:
"Whoever among us has learned through personal experience what pain and anxiety really are must help to ensure that those out there who are in physical need obtain the same help that once came to him. He no longer belongs to himself alone; he has become the brother of all who suffer." He has joined the "brotherhood of those who bear the mark of pain."
When we are struck by an illness like cancer, our sense of having a meaningful past, present, and future is often severely damaged. Before cancer, if someone had asked us to tell our life story, we would have told it with a certain belief that the past led rationally to where we are, and that our future will be a reasonable result of the same journey that we have been on since we were born. But with cancer, it's very difficult to make sense of the reasonableness of something that has just happened, in spite of the life we've led that was supposed to lead to a different present, and one that we thought would lead to our future dreams. Now, all of that is shattered, and the rest of our future will be uncertain.
In order to mend ourselves, we need to embark on a journey in which we tell our stories. Not once, but over and over. There are many versions of our stories. When we are giving medical history to a doctor or nurse, it's one kind of story, essentially focusing on the medical facts. When we tell a friend or loved one, personal details may be added. Over time, some pieces of the past become minimized in our stories, and other concerns need to be expanded upon. As we tell and retell our story, we resuture our broken selves, reintegrate our past selves with this new wounded present self, and make possible a new future self with new dreams. We become emotionally healthy, in spite of the physical ordeals we may still need to endure. We need to tell our stories for our sake, and we need to share them with others, for their sake.
In addition to telling our own story, we need to listen to the stories of others, so that we can gain in perspective and wisdom. We are enriched by hearing about the paths that others have trod in coping with cancer. And in the process, for those who are ill, as well as for those who listen, life can once more be enchanting.
One of the most poignant quotes in the book is by Albert Schweitzer:
"Whoever among us has learned through personal experience what pain and anxiety really are must help to ensure that those out there who are in physical need obtain the same help that once came to him. He no longer belongs to himself alone; he has become the brother of all who suffer." He has joined the "brotherhood of those who bear the mark of pain."
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Listening to the suffering
3 April 2008
Format:Paperback
Don't we all feel uncomfortable when trying to sustain a supportive relationship with someone suffering with a long-term illness? This book gives a philosophical framework for the mindset of someone in that situation. Initially it was rather heavy into social theory, but once you've worked through that part, you get some great food for thought. I've recommended it to folks in pastoral care and psychology.
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