Health, Illness and Culture Broken Narratives [Paperback]

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.

1. Introduction: From the Retold to the Performed Story  Lars-Christer Hyd?n 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 Hyd?n  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 B?low  9. Break-Up Narratives  Margareta Hyd?n  10. Beyond Narrative: Dementias Tragic Promise  Mark Freeman.  Contributors.  Index.

Lars-Christer Hyd?n is Professor of Health Communication at Link?ping University, Sweden. His main focus is on the role of narrative in the cultural interplay of illness and health.

Jens Brockmeier, a Seniorlc