Although this is a difficult read, as it is more scholarly rather than conversational, it is an important read for future health care providers. It wraps up a lot of what is suppose to be learnt in this class, Narrative Writing and Medicine. What I understood as the overlying heart of this is that people need to tell their stories to understand where they stand with themselves. It was interesting to hear Arthur Franks voice in the podcast, as he sounded far different than the “self” that he had written in. I also find it interesting to know he had written this piece using little notes, knowing that the truth in this piece was his own voice, opinion, and knowledge. Perhaps this piece is also a way of him dealing with his own illness, as he does speak of his cancer quite a bit throughout this essay, which is supposed to be generalized.
I also thought it was great the use of different authors that he had incorporated into his writing. It added validity to his ideas. Also, tying them together, is far more important than anything else. Showing that there is a universal thought about how healthcare and storytelling and their dual effort in treatment is revolutional. Such a scholarly article really adds a language that doctors will understand and feel they are worthy to read. So this discussion has more of a permissive feature to it with this essay added into the mix.
