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Author Edwards, Laurie (Laurie Elizabeth)

Title In the kingdom of the sick : a social history of chronic illness in America / Laurie Edwards.

Publication Info. New York : Walker & Co., [2013]
©2013

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  362.196 EDWARDS    Check Shelf
 Farmington, Main Library - Adult Department  362.19 EDW    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  362.19 ED97    Check Shelf
 Windsor, Main Library - Adult Department  362.196 ED    Check Shelf
 Windsor, Wilson Branch - Adult Department  362.19 ED    Missing
Edition First U.S. edition.
Description 243 pages ; 25 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-235) and index.
Contents From Plato to Polio. Chronic disease in historical context -- An awakening. Medicine and illness in post-World War Two America -- Disability rights, civil rights, and chronic illness -- The women's health movement and patient empowerment -- Culture, consumerism, and character. Chronic illness and patient advocacy in the 1980's and 1990's -- A slight hysterical tendency. Revisiting "the girl who cried pain" -- Into the fray. Patients in the digital age -- Participatory medicine and transparency -- What future, at what cost?
Summary "Thirty years ago, Susan Sontag wrote, "Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship in the kingdom of the well and the kingdom of the sick ... Sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place." Now more than 133 million Americans live with chronic illness, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all health care dollars, and untold pain and disability. There has been an alarming rise in illnesses that defy diagnosis through clinical tests or have no known cure. Millions of people, especially women, with illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue syndrome face skepticism from physicians and the public alike. And people with diseases as varied as cardiovascular disease, HIV, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes have been accused of causing their preventable illnesses through their lifestyle choices. We must balance our faith in medical technology with awareness of the limits of science, and confront our throwback beliefs that people who are sick have weaker character than those who are well. Through research and patient narratives, health writer Laurie Edwards explores patient rights, the role of social media in medical advocacy, the origins of our attitudes about chronic illness, and much more. What The Noonday Demon did for people suffering from depression, In the Kingdom of the Sick does for those who are chronically ill"-- Provided by publisher.
Subject Chronic diseases -- United States -- History.
Chronically ill -- Social aspects -- United States.
Chronic Disease -- United States.
History, 19th Century -- United States.
History, 20th Century -- United States.
History, 21st Century -- United States.
Patient Advocacy -- history -- United States.
Patient Rights -- history -- United States.
Social Change -- history -- United States.
ISBN 9780802718013 hardback
0802718019 hardback
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