In the Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America
*Starred Review* The scariest revelation for anyone with a chronic illness is the realization that it isn’t going to go away. Ever. Edwards, a health and science writer, recalls endless doctor and hospital visits when she was a child. As an adult with lung and autoimmune diseases, her visits continue. But she is not alone. According to Edwards, almost 130 million Americans suffer with some kind of chronic illness. Her book is a hybrid, a combination of research, literature, and personal stories from patients. Edwards addresses such important issues as the long-standing gender biases in the treatment and diagnosis of pain, how technology will change the doctor-patient relationship and empower patients, and the implications of what it means to be sick. She discusses what the ancients thought about the nature of disease, patient rights and medical ethics from the 1950s to the ’70s, disability rights and the chronically ill, the women’s health movement, the early HIV–AIDS movement, chronic fatigue syndrome, prevention and the stigma of chronic disease, and chronic disease and health-care reform. An indispensable book for anyone with or concerned about chronic disease, and everyone interested in the health professions. --June Sawyers