Chronic Illness

by Toombs, S. Kay; Barnard, David; Carson, Ronald A.

• ISBN13: 9780253360113
• ISBN10: 0253360110
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-07-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"...excellent..." -- Choices - Choice on Dying Newsletter"Toombs, Barnard, and Carson have organized and edited a valuable series of papers that provide a rare perspective on the impact of chronic illness. Beginning with the person who is experiencing the chronic condition, they are able to weave an important blend of personal, social, and policy themes." -- Choice"This volume of collected essays is a solid contribution to the medical humanities literature on chronic illness... the contributors have produced a cohesive, systematic, and sensitive examination of issues in chronic illness and disability." -- Medical Humanities Review"Although it may seem to be intended largely for health care providers, this thought-provoking volume has much that will interest a wider lay audience." -- Medical and Health AnnualAn often moving exploration of the human, moral, and policy aspects of a health issue that affects each of us. Through first-person accounts and the perspectives of literature, medicine, philosophy, and religion, this book explores what it means to live with chronic illness and the implications of this experience for social policy, health care, bioethics, and the professions.

Author Biography

S. KAY TOOMBS is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University and author of The Meaning of Illness. DAVID BARNARD is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Humanities at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. He is the co-editor (with William R. Rogers) of Nourishing the Humanistic in Medicine: Interactions with the Social Sciences. RONALD A. CARSON is Harris L. Kempner Professor of Medical Humanities and Director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He is co-editor of Medical Humanities Review.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Sufficient Unto the Day: A Life with Multiple Sclerosis	p. 3
The Exceptional Family: Walking the Edge of Tragedy and Transformation	p. 24
Chronic Illness and the Dynamics of Hoping	p. 38
Rage and Grief: Another Look at Dax's Case	p. 58
Whose Story Is It Anyway? Authority, Voice, and Responsibility in Narratives of Chronic Illness	p. 77
Beyond Respect to Recognition and Due Regard	p. 105
Chronic Illness and Freedom	p. 129
Disability and the Persistence of the "Normal"	p. 154
The Social Course of Chronic Illness: Delegitimation, Resistance, and Transformation in North American and Chinese Societies	p. 176
The Role of the Rules: The Impact of the Bureaucratization of Long-Term Care	p. 189
Contributors	p. 213
Index	p. 215
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