Full Description
Develop a better understanding of what CFS/CFIDS sufferers are going through!In the 1980s, a strange emerging epidemic baffled doctors in Incline Village, Nevada. Dismissed by the media as "The Yuppie Flu," Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) turned out to be neither a faddish disease of the wealthy nor a passing trend, but rather a growing worldwide epidemic of devastating proportions.In the voices of a South African journalist, a former marathon runner, a teenage girl, a public health activist living on the edge of race and gender, a cancer patient neglected by doctors because of disdain for her chronic illness, and a theologian relearning the art of spiritual empathy, the people who share their stories in Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome defy cultural stereotypes and explore the complex social and political dynamics of this hidden epidemic. Through their distinct points of view, we feel the grief and hope of those stricken with CFIDS and learn of the complex nature of this misunderstood disorder. These are compelling stories about a quiet and baffling epidemic. The first American anthology to contain stories from a diverse range of people with CFIDS, Stricken offers an intimate look at the political and social issues surrounding CFIDS, as told by those who are living through this ordeal. Stricken addresses several issues, such as:
why some doctors still do not believe CFIDS is real
how the disease is mocked in the media
myths about this illness
the personal fight for medical or public recognition
the skepticism and hope that is felt by the ever-growing number of CFIDS sufferers
Stricken confronts fascinating CFIDS issues such as the Kevorkian suicides, accusations of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, Gulf War Syndrome, the role of storytelling in a memory-impaired patient movement, and the feasibility of mass activism in a disabled population. With contributions from Pulitzer-prize nominated writer Susan Griffin, renowned health writer and radio host Gary Null, well-known feminist activist Joan Nestle, and award-winning poet and essayist Floyd Skloot, Stricken is an eloquent testament to the heroism, defiance, and diversity of the CFIDS community.
Contents
Contents
About the Editor
Contributiors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Doubt and Diagnosis
Chapter 1. Encounters with the Invisible
Chapter 2. From What Her Body Thought (ital)
Chapter 3. When Tiredness Gives Way to Tiredness
Chapter 4. Object Assembly
Part II: Atlantis
Chapter 5. One Window
Chapter 6. Silent Trespass
Chapter 7. Prisoner of CFIDS
Chapter 8. Bittersweet Nightshade
Chapter 9. Right Where I Am
Chapter 10. Valley of Shadows: Journal Entries
Chapter 11. Stealth
Chapter 12. Roller Coasters
Part III: Memory and Metaphor
Chapter 13. Immune Means Memory
Chapter 14. The Paradox of Lost Fingerprints: Metaphor and the Shaming of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chapter 15. Fossil Memories
Chapter 16. In the Shadow of Memory
Part IV: Synergy and Movement
Chapter 17. On Life, Death and the Nature of Limbo: Assisted Suicides in the CFIDS Community
Chapter 18. From Activist to Passivist: Where is the Mass Movement?
Chapter 19. The Gulf War's Troubling Legacy
Chapter 20. The Amazing Illness That Doesn't Exist
Chapter 21. Taking the Rap: Parents, Blame, and Pediatric CFIDS
Part V: Fate and Faith
Chapter 22. Kismet
Chapter 23. Spiritual Healing, Holistic Healing and the White Light Fascists
Chapter 24. CFIDS, Suffering and the Divine
Part VI: Love and Alliance
Chapter 25. CFIDS--A Love Poem
Chapter 26. What's a Mother to Do?
Chapter 27. Dating CFIDS
Chapter 28. Sick Sex Revisited
Chapter 29. Long Illness
Index
Reference Note Included
