Beginning

“The wounded storyteller is anyone who has suffered and lived to tell the tale.”

-Dr. Arthur W. Frank

The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics, 2nd edition, 2013.
Dr. Arthur W. Frank is a professor of sociology who studies stories of illness. He has lived through a variety of illnesses, a heart attack, and cancer.

Storytelling is an important manner of inspiration, influence, and persuasion. As you tell your story of living with invisible illness, this can help you cope and perhaps make sense of your experiences. Telling your story will also develop and deepen your connections with others. Only you can tell your story of your lived experiences with invisible illness. Some individuals with invisible illness can feel powerless, and storytelling is a way for you to reclaim your power and decision-making.

Here are some common types of illness stories. Read through them and reflect on the way you think about your invisible illness. You may find your experience is similar to more than one type.

The Restitution Narrative

Many people think of health through the restitution narrative. This type of narrative tells the story of one who is ill, receives medical treatment, and feels “good as new.” As someone with invisible illness this is not your experience. As you tell your story with invisible illness, you are going against common beliefs of what health and wellness mean.

The Quest Narrative

The quest narrative describes how illness summons you to a journey. In this narrative, you are a hero describing events in your life, which might not be in a timeline. In the quest narrative, you may share a truth you have learned with the hope to make social changes.

The Battle Narrative

Within the battle narrative, one tells of dealing with the illness in comparison to fighting a war. With this comes the double edged sword of glorious heroic behavior, as well as the horrors of suffering. The battle narrative includes the idea of never giving up as one fights the invading enemy of illness.

The Testimony Narrative

The testimony narrative places you as a witness who tells a truth that would otherwise be unrecognized or buried. Your body is proof of what you testify. Testimony does not grasp the entirety of your situation, but serves as part of the greater experience.

The Chaos Narrative

The chaos narrative is the opposite of the restitution narrative. The chaos narrative can describe experiences where there is no clear beginning or end. The stories can include feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability. The chaos narrative describes a lack of control. Suffering that cannot be put into words lives in the holes of the story.