# What's Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine - Hardcover

by **Erin Williams** (Author)

**"The narratives of those marginalized by Western medicine--and how they've suffered from discriminatory medical systems--are told through watercolors and digital art in this touching collection." --_New York Times_**

"A humane and gripping work that illuminates how (and why) our treatments of chronic illness fail, and a devastating portrait of the ways our society fails to protect the bodies of its most vulnerable members." --Melissa Febos, author of _Girlhood_, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

**"Utterly riveting, deeply moving, absolutely molecule-rearranging exploration of pain--individual and collective--suffused with wit, wonder, and mourning; textured by compassion and curiosity, and vibrating with the humanity of its dynamic subjects. Williams' sharp, nimble, tender prose, and her searing art--humming with insight and imagination--speak to veins of human experience so difficult to articulate we often shy away from speaking them at all. But in these dark places, she finds vitality, collectivity, and hope. This book and its subjects will live inside me forever." --Leslie Jamison, author _The Empathy Exams_**

_What's Wrong?_ is author, illustrator, and scientific researcher Erin Williams's graphic exploration of how the American health-care system fails us. Focusing on four raw and complex firsthand accounts, plus Williams's own story, this book examines the consequences of living with interconnected illnesses and conditions like:

-   immunodeficiency
-   cancer
-   endometriosis
-   alcoholism
-   severe depression
-   PTSD

Western medicine, which intends to cure illness and minimize pain, often causes more loss, abuse, and suffering for those Americans who don't fit within the narrow definition of who the system was built to serve--cis, white, heterosexual men. The book explores the many ways in which those receiving medical care are often overlooked, unseen, and doubted by the very clinicians who are supposed to heal them. _What's Wrong?_ is also a beautiful celebration of nontraditional modes of healing, of how we become whole _not because_ of health care but _despite_ it.

### Author Biography

**Erin Williams** is the author and illustrator of _Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame_ and the coauthor and illustrator of _How to Take Care: An A-Z Guide of Radical Remedies_ and the Big Activity Book series. She has more than a decade of experience in data analysis and scientific research. She lives in New York with her spouse, child, and an array of pets.

**Number of Pages:** 256

**Dimensions:** 1 x 8.1 x 6.1 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** January 23, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 29.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- What's Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine - Hardcover
- What's Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine - Hardcover

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