by Susan Sontag
First published 1978
In the late 1970s, as she recovered from cancer, Susan Sontag penned a radical reexamination of how society understands and weaponizes disease. Illness as Metaphor challenges the punitive, moralistic frameworks that have long shrouded illnesses like tuberculosis and cancer. With precision and empathy, Sontag dismantles the ways we unconsciously link physical ailments to individual failings or societal ills. This incisive work lays bare the painful consequences of these damaging metaphors, paving the way for a more humane approach to the lived experience of sickness.
Genres: 20th-century, non-fiction, health, illness, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-experience, social-commentary
Period: 1970s
85 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: mental-illness