Overview

Hypochondria proposes a bold reimagining of a frequently dismissed condition. Susannah B. Mintz reframes health anxiety not as a pathology but as a site of creative potential – exploring hypochondria as a form of communication, a reorientation to time, a convergence of personal and communal identity, a declaration of bodymind needs and an embrace of ageing’s transformations. Far-ranging in its attention to historical periods, national literatures, philosophical thought and medical discourse, the book challenges the containment of suffering within narratives of professional authority. In doing so, it seeks to dispel shame and stigma, opening space for new forms of connection and understanding through a deeper attentiveness to the experience of illness.

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9781836391227

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Reviews

Hypochondria tends to be regarded as the exaggeration if not complete fabrication of ailments or illness. In this important and beautifully written book, however, Susannah Mintz provides a very different account of essential expression, profound reflection, and often untapped potential for making meaningful personal and sociocultural connections. * David Bolt, Professor, Liverpool Hope University and Director of the Centre for Culture and Disability Studies *

Author Information

Susannah B. Mintz is Professor of English at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her books include Hurt and Pain: Literature and the Suffering Body (2014), The Disabled Detective (2019) and the memoir Love Affair in the Garden of Milton (2021).

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