Through vivid and engaging narrative accounts, written and collected by women, Women's Narratives of Health Disruption and Illness: Within and Across Their Life Stories explores how women experience the health disruptions and illnesses that span their lives. The collection examines how women’s broader and ongoing life stories impact and are impacted by health disruptions and illnesses. Organized into three parts, the chapters explore “Beginnings” in which health disruptions and illnesses impact early life, motherhood, and where early choices create the origins of health issues that impact later life; “Middles” which explores health experiences in and around middle age, or from the standpoint in middle-age looking back and forth; and “Endings” which explores narratives of ageing and end of life communication. Personal, revealing, and often beautiful, the women’s narratives featured in this book will invite the reader into the stories and lives of others, and toward the reflection, learning, and personal transformation that comes from truly connecting with the experiences of others. This book will be helpful for scholars of communication, health, women’s studies, family studies, and sociology.

Contributions by: Kasey Bruss, Krista Calvin, Jamie Cobb, Leda Cooks, Ruthann Fox-Hines, Jennifer Hall, Jennifer M. Hawkins, Laura Hope-Gill, Jessica M. W. Kratzer, Peter M. Kellett, Robin McIntyre, Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, Wei Sun, Elizabeth Spencer, Avinash Thombre, Courtney Waite Miller, Deanna F. Womack