Main description:

This collection of essays examines the interrelations between illness, disability, health, society, and culture. The contributors examine how "narratives" have emerged and been utilized within these areas to help those who have experienced d injury, disability, dementia, pain, grief, or psychological trauma to express their stories. Encompassing clinical case studies, ethnographic field studies and autobiographical case studies, Health, Illness and Culture offers a broad overview and critical analysis of the present state of "illness narratives" within the fields of health and social welfare.

Contents:

1. Introduction: From the Retold to the Performed Story Lars-Christer Hyden and Jens Brockmeier 2. Language, Experience, and the "Traumatic Gap": How to Talk About 9/11? Jens Brockmeier 3. Broken and Vicarious Voices in Narratives Lars-Christer Hyden 4. Talking About the Unthinkable: Neurotrauma and the "Catastrophic Reaction" Maria I. Medved & Jens Brockmeier 5. Stories That Are Ready to Break Cheryl Mattingly 6. Globally Distributed Silences, and Broken Narratives about HIV Georg Drakos 7. Taking Care of the Dead: Broken Narratives of Internment Arthur W. Frank 8. "You Have to Ask a Little": Troublesome Storytelling about Contested Illness Pia Bulow 9. Break-Up Narratives Margareta Hyden 10. Beyond Narrative: Dementia's Tragic Promise Mark Freeman. Contributors. Index.