First published 2010
Melanie Thernstrom confronts a reality that touches everyone: physical pain strikes without warning and lingers without promise of departure. Ten percent of Americans live with chronic pain, yet this widespread condition remains poorly understood and inadequately treated. Thernstrom weaves together her personal struggle with chronic pain and extensive research across multiple fields. She traces how humans have understood pain from Babylonian healing rituals to contemporary brain scans. The author visits cutting-edge pain clinics and interviews leading researchers while drawing insights from science, history, religion, philosophy, and art. Recent discoveries show that pain rewires the brain and spinal cord, yet outdated beliefs still prevent effective treatment. Thernstrom reveals that our relationship with pain sits between the extremes of medical advancement and complete helplessness. Her investigation combines personal reflection with rigorous reporting to illuminate how pain shapes human experience.
Genres: science, medical, non-fiction, health, history-of-medicine, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-reflection, rigorous-reporting
384 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux