The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics (Hardcover)

by Arthur W. Frank (Author) "The destination and map I had used to navigate before were no longer useful..." (more)
Key Phrases: embodied paranoia, dyadic body, remission society, Audre Lorde, Gilda Radner, Judith Zaruches (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
At the conclusion of At the Will of the Body (LJ 3/15/91), Frank (sociology, Univ. of Calgary) wrote that "remission society is new." Members of this group are those who, like himself, all live with severe illness or disability and know firsthand "the value of the everyday." In his latest work, Frank expands his narrative from the particular to the universal, from the heart-wrenching story of illness to a sociological theory of illness and ethics. By analyzing the works of authors such as Anatole Broyard, Norman Cousins, Audre Lorde, and Oliver Sacks, as well as the narratives of countless chronically ill, Frank evolves a theory that sick, or "wounded," people tell their stories to make sense of their suffering and to find healing...thus becoming a "moral witness" in society. Frank's structured theorizing may become a landmark in academic sick-role research studies and medical studies. For academic medical collections.
James Swanton, Albert Einstein Coll. of Medicine, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

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.

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 stirring collection of illness stories, ranging from the well-known—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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (October 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226259927
• ISBN-13: 978-0226259925
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,056,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Is A Group Grope, July 13, 2000

By	It's About Hope, Inc. (Nashville,, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics (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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listening to the suffering, April 3, 2008

By	Wise Owl "Doting Grandma" (San Antonio TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics (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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Find Your Story, March 22, 2009

By	Ed Gurowitz (Incline Village, NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics (Paperback)

Frank's book is a classic work on the stories that organize our lives. While he uses illness narratives as his case in point, the application of his work is much broader, from looking at how we have, consciously or unconsciously, set our lives up to work all the way out to looking at cosmology and spirituality.