Your reflections on “finding language for the body” remind me of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant for the way Donaldson treats illness as something that shapes both identity and perception. Covenant’s struggle with leprosy forces him into an acute awareness of his own body: what it allows, what it refuses, and how others respond to it.
What always struck me is that his illness becomes both a limitation and a lens, distorting at times, clarifying at others. Reading your piece, I was reminded how writing about illness can do that too: help us see the world differently, sometimes more sharply than before.
Thank you for sharing this.
Also, if you come across a good in-person set of writing workshops this summer, let me know. I think I am ready for one.
Pat - I haven’t read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - I’ll be on the lookout for that series. I’ve been thinking about writing an essay called, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at Parkinson’s Disease” (an homage to Wallace Stevens’s poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird) because I agree that any illness can be viewed in so many ways. PD has definitely been a lens for me, as well as a teacher and a physical burden. Can I come up with 13? We’ll see. And I’ll definitely let you know if I find in-person writing workshops this summer!
Talk about vulnerability? In so many ways. . .And reflections on class settings - yours and the "Language" class in which we share. The matter of time too, and our times in education - Time is a sense that we all share but exists outside the 5. I mean, in reference to the reading, that something like anorexia existed in our youth and most of us failed so desperately in our understanding. People still sadly suffer with it, but maybe less now? We understand it now to be an effort to take control in a way that one may, in a world where we are powerless. And all of a sudden I wonder how many kids will start restricting food in these times we now live? How many may choose this response to now? And that prompts me to think, better to spin these thoughts out into my own writing, now. Get to it. Thanks again Professor.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year ago at the age of 67. For several months I had noticed tremors in my right hand and the shaking of my right foot when I was sitting. My normally beautiful cursive writing was now small, cramped printing. And I tended to lose my balance. The neurologist had me walk down the hall and said I didn't swing my right arm. I had never noticed! I was in denial for a while, as there is no history in my family of parents and five older siblings, but I had to accept I had classic symptoms. I was taking amantadine and carbidopa/levodopa and was about to start physical therapy to strengthen muscles. I used different supplements that didn't work, so last July, I tried the PD-5 protocol—the best decision ever! My tremors eased, my energy returned, and I sleep soundly. I feel like a new woman, and I can walk and exercise again. I got the PD-5 from www. limitlesshealthcenter. com
I'm going to in person's writer's retreat in May in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The Shake Rag Alley Center hold this event each year. They have workshops for non-fiction. It would be lovely to see you Amy! I found your post very moving. It captured some of the social anxiety that is present. Having dealt with a heart issue -AFIB- this year, I have dealt with anxiety that can grip the body
Your reflections on “finding language for the body” remind me of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant for the way Donaldson treats illness as something that shapes both identity and perception. Covenant’s struggle with leprosy forces him into an acute awareness of his own body: what it allows, what it refuses, and how others respond to it.
What always struck me is that his illness becomes both a limitation and a lens, distorting at times, clarifying at others. Reading your piece, I was reminded how writing about illness can do that too: help us see the world differently, sometimes more sharply than before.
Thank you for sharing this.
Also, if you come across a good in-person set of writing workshops this summer, let me know. I think I am ready for one.
Pat - I haven’t read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - I’ll be on the lookout for that series. I’ve been thinking about writing an essay called, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at Parkinson’s Disease” (an homage to Wallace Stevens’s poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird) because I agree that any illness can be viewed in so many ways. PD has definitely been a lens for me, as well as a teacher and a physical burden. Can I come up with 13? We’ll see. And I’ll definitely let you know if I find in-person writing workshops this summer!
Talk about vulnerability? In so many ways. . .And reflections on class settings - yours and the "Language" class in which we share. The matter of time too, and our times in education - Time is a sense that we all share but exists outside the 5. I mean, in reference to the reading, that something like anorexia existed in our youth and most of us failed so desperately in our understanding. People still sadly suffer with it, but maybe less now? We understand it now to be an effort to take control in a way that one may, in a world where we are powerless. And all of a sudden I wonder how many kids will start restricting food in these times we now live? How many may choose this response to now? And that prompts me to think, better to spin these thoughts out into my own writing, now. Get to it. Thanks again Professor.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year ago at the age of 67. For several months I had noticed tremors in my right hand and the shaking of my right foot when I was sitting. My normally beautiful cursive writing was now small, cramped printing. And I tended to lose my balance. The neurologist had me walk down the hall and said I didn't swing my right arm. I had never noticed! I was in denial for a while, as there is no history in my family of parents and five older siblings, but I had to accept I had classic symptoms. I was taking amantadine and carbidopa/levodopa and was about to start physical therapy to strengthen muscles. I used different supplements that didn't work, so last July, I tried the PD-5 protocol—the best decision ever! My tremors eased, my energy returned, and I sleep soundly. I feel like a new woman, and I can walk and exercise again. I got the PD-5 from www. limitlesshealthcenter. com
Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts – a wellspring of creativity in arts and crafts https://share.google/zePHRNCyPE6YJoutW
Plus, Shake Rag is just a cool place, it's got character. Mineral Point is an interesting place in and of itself.
I'm going to in person's writer's retreat in May in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The Shake Rag Alley Center hold this event each year. They have workshops for non-fiction. It would be lovely to see you Amy! I found your post very moving. It captured some of the social anxiety that is present. Having dealt with a heart issue -AFIB- this year, I have dealt with anxiety that can grip the body
Thank you so much! Making the invisible visible is one of the reasons that I write.