by Susan Sontag
First published 2025
Susan Sontag's landmark essay collection confronts the loaded language used to describe disease. From cancer to AIDS, she exposes how metaphors like "battle" and "invasion" dehumanize the ill and warp public understanding. Sontag's powerful voice demands we rethink how we talk about - and think about - illness and the human body. Her insights cut to the heart of the AIDS crisis, unpacking the stigma, fear, and political agendas that fueled the epidemic. Sontag's radical clarity and empathy offer a path toward greater compassion.
Genres: 20th-century, health, history-of-medicine, 21st-century, illness, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: empathy, social-issues
192 pages · Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: mental-illness