At the Will of the Body（ISBN=9780618219292）

In this deeply affecting memoir, Arthur W. Frank explores the events of illness from within: the transformation from person to patient, the pain, the wonder,and the ceremony of recovery. To illuminate what illness can teach us about life, Frank draws upon his own encounters with serious illness -- a heart attack at age thirty-nine and, a year later, a diagnosis of cancer. In poignant and clear prose, he offers brilliant insights into what happens when our bodies and emotions are pushed to extremes. Ultimately, he examines what it means to be human.

Arthur W. Frank received the Natalie Davis Spingarn Writer"s Award from the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship in 1996. He teaches at the University of Calgary.

Illness as a Dangerous Opportunity
Becoming Ill
Illness as Incident
Becoming Ill Again
Seeing Through Pain
Mourning What Is Lost
Care Has No Recipe
The Body as Territory and as Wonder
The Cost of Appearances
Chemotherapy and Adventure
The Struggle Is Not a Fight
Stigma
Denial and Affirmation
Comforters and Accusers
Valuine Illness
Listening to the Ill
Ceremonies of Recovery
Gravy
Afterword .
Literary Debts