At the Will of the Body: Reflections of Illness by Arthur Frank (1991)

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.

This was one of the first pathographies I read, and even to day, one of the most instructive and educational.

Frank feels that “illness is an opportunity, though a dangerous one… Critical illness offers the experience of being taken to the threshold of life, from which you can see where your life could end. From that vantage point you are both forced and allowed to think in new ways about the value of your life… Illness takes away parts of your life, but in doing so it gives you the opportunity to choose the life you will lead, as opposed to living the one you have simply accumulated over the years.”

Can be purchased from Abebooks.com starting at one dollar.

In the Country of Illness by Robert Lipsyte 1998

From Publishers Weekly
Anyone who will ever have to negotiate the minefields of today's medical system while suffering from a serious illness or caring for a loved one will greatly welcome this outstanding guide to what the author calls the country of "Malady." Lipsyte, a prize-winning author (The Contender) and New York Times columnist, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1978. He presents here what he learned from that episode, and a later recurrence that helped him function within the world of illness. When his wife, Margie, who'd been his support during surgery and subsequent chemotherapy, developed breast cancer, he reentered Malady as her caregiver. Lipsyte provides highly useful material on how to elicit necessary information from physicians and nurses, ways to maximize hospital care and tips for coping with a managed care system that, according to the author, does not serve patient needs. Although the Lipsytes eventually divorced, the author remained close to his ex-wife during her long battle with terminal cancer, and his exquisitely written description of this period is deeply moving.

Can be purchased very cheaply from AbeBooks.