Bibliograph

Sick and tired, an intimate history of fatigue, Emily K. Abel

Type

Label

Sick and tired, an intimate history of fatigue, Emily K. Abel

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

autobiography

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Sick and tired

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1156413913

Responsibility statement

Emily K. Abel

Series statement

Studies in social medicine

Sub title

an intimate history of fatigue

Summary

"Blending vivid auto-ethnography with historical and cultural analysis, this book examines three themes common to the experience of chronic fatigue patients. The first is the denigration of subjective knowledge in the medical community. Since there are no tools with which to diagnose fatigue, there can be no medical confirmation, making it difficult to convince doctors, and often by extension the patients themselves, that these problems are real. Without a diagnosis, there are no prescribed guidelines and as a result, patients often create alternative cultural spaces in the form of support groups that give primacy importance to the role of subjective experience. Chronic fatigue syndrome advocates have repeatedly called attention to the paltry amount of research funds directed to that condition. Because everyone gets tired and endures aches and pain at some point, the public also dismisses persistent pain and fatigue. The second is an analysis of the cultural emphasis on productivity. Although Abel was reluctant for many years to view her fatigue as a disability, its impact on her life immediately forced her to face some of the most emotionally charged and persistent questions about work and morality: In a society that places inordinate emphasis on work ethic, who is entitled to remain idle? How can unemployed people find another source of human worth? When does devotion to work become excessive? Finally, Abel examines the prevalence of personal triumphal narratives in the cultural production of recovery"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Living with fatigue -- Learning from pain and depression -- A history of fatigue -- Rest: "becoming fit for the forthcoming labor" -- Fighting fatigue -- Remembering sickness -- Rewriting the story

Classification