{"product_id":"my-imaginary-illness-chloe-atkins-9780801448874","title":"My Imaginary Illness","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow Patients Think\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt age twenty-one, Chloë Atkins began suffering from a mysterious illness, the symptoms of which rapidly worsened. Paralyzed for months at a time, she frequently required intubation and life support. She eventually became quadriplegic, dependent both on a wheelchair and on health professionals who refused to believe there was anything physically wrong with her. When test after test returned inconclusive results, Atkins's doctors pronounced her symptoms psychosomatic. Atkins was told not only that she was going to die but also that this was her own fault; they concluded she was so emotionally deranged that she was willing her own death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Imaginary Illness\u003c\/i\u003e is the compelling story of Atkins's decades-long battle with a disease deemed imaginary, her frustration with a succession of doctors and diagnoses, her immersion in the world of psychotherapy, and her excruciating physical and emotional journey back to wellness. As both a political theorist and patient, Atkins provides a narrative critique of contemporary medicine and its problematic handling of uncertainty and of symptoms that are not easily diagnosed or known. She convincingly illustrates that medicine's belief in evidence-based practice does not mean that individual doctors are capable of objectivity, nor that the presence of biomedical ethics invokes ethical practices in hospitals and clinics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA foreword by Bonnie Blair O'Connor, who teaches medical students how to listen to patients, and a clinical commentary by Dr. Brian David Hodges, a professor of psychiatry, enrich the book's narrative with practical guidance for medical practitioners and patients alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Chloe Atkins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0801448875\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780801448874\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e ILR Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.07lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.62h x 6.10w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2010 pg. 83\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2011 pg. 298","brand":"Chloe Atkins","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43947172299007,"sku":"9780801448874","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_9a522ea6-4ef5-4875-b3f6-34d667abdd41.jpg?v=1681517149","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/my-imaginary-illness-chloe-atkins-9780801448874","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}