From the Reviews—
American Anthropologist: If you or someone you know has a chronic disease, wants to know more about the American culture of illness, or is an observer of the American scene, this is a must read book.
Medical Humanities Review: Her remarkable book will help readers accept their own disabilities or those of others.
New England Journal of Medicine: . . . patients with newly diagnosed chronic disease who are struggling with issues of acceptance and adjustment may be assisted by this book. Physicians and other health care professionals may also gain valuable insight from a patient's perspective on living with chronic disease.
JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association: This is an extraordinary book written by a highly intelligent, introspective young woman who discusses her struggles with adjusting to her disease and its social and cultural implications.
american ethnologist: [The author] describes the social organization and cultural meaning of a chronic illness. . . . A lucid writing style and gift for wresting cultural insights from personal experience help to make Webster's narrative a paradigmatic account. . . .[her] cultural insights add a needed ethnographic dimension to the literature on MS.
Anthropological Quarterly: . . . an important work for those challenged by MS (both care givers and those with the disease) or those who have an interest in the anthropology of disease and disability. When combined with . . . Murphy's The Body Silent, Sontag's Illness as Metaphor, and Gardner's The Shattered Mind, it completes a well-rounded reading list . . . [her] anthropological viewpoint brings a cultural perspective to the study of disease that is an especially welcome offering from one who can share her personal experience in such an enlightening way.
Robert Murphy . . . a book that will both inform the professional and transport the general reader into the inner world of the physically impaired.