The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, and Relief - Hardcover

Biro MD, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393070638 ISBN 13: 9780393070637

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010

Synopsis

David Biro breaks through the wall of silence in this impassioned, hopeful work.

Pain regularly accompanies illness, as David Biro knows only too well. Faced with a bone marrow transplant, the young doctor was determined to study his pain but found himself unable to articulate its depths, even to his doctors and wife. He has now discovered a way to break through the silent wall of suffering―physical and psychological―and wants to share it with others. In his new book, the critically acclaimed author expertly weaves together compelling stories and artwork from patients along with insights from some of our greatest thinkers, writers, and artists.

In the tradition of Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor, Biro’s groundbreaking book is sure to transform our understanding of and ability to communicate pain. Language can alleviate the loneliness of pain and improve the chances that other people―family, friends, and doctors―empathize and respond most effectively. 10 illustrations

About this title

From the Back Cover

“David Biro makes effective use of his ability to write as a physician, as a literary scholar, and as someone who has faced a life-threatening illness. The Language of Pain breaks new ground both as a study of metaphor and as a demonstration of the clinical relevance of literary texts. Clinicians who treat pain, people struggling to express their own pain, and scholars of literature and medicine will find much to appreciate in this book.”―Arthur W. Frank, author of The Wounded Storyteller and The Renewal of Generosity

“Biro’s meditation on pain beautifully distills metaphors of experience from literature, medicine, and real life. The author reveals how patients, struggling against isolation, reach out with words to touch their pain, and, in the process, touch others. Human connections transform pain for this doctor (and patient), who builds a welcoming bridge between clinical medicine and the humanities. Bravo!”―Arthur Kleinman, author of The Illness Narratives

“The book highlights the need to understand how we communicate our pain to one another―especially in people suffering excruciating pain and unable to communicate their suffering to their doctors. The consequences can be disastrous.”―Ronald Melzack, author of The Challenge of Pain

“A literate and deeply felt work of medical philosophy that ponders the subtle mystery of how words give meaning to―and even relief from―corporeal and psychic anguish.”―Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon and winner of the National Book Award

About the Author

One of New York magazine’s Top Doctors, David Biro, MD, practices in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. He lives with his wife and twin boys in New York City.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0393070638
• ISBN 13: 9780393070637
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256