Narrative Matters: The Power of the Personal Essay in Health Policy

by Abraham Verghese

Book Overview

This anthology brings together the personal stories of patients, physicians, policy makers, and others whose writings humanize discussions and deliberations about health policy. Drawn from the popular... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801884799
• ISBN13: 9780801884795
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 293 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Splendid!

As this book's preface reminds us, the plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence." However, first-person accounts can do much to uncover the realities behind statistics and policy statements. The stories collected here, all from the highly-respected journal Health Affairs, are enormously valuable in this regard. They open up for the reader the conflicts, shortcomings, and heartaches with which our healthcare system is filled. I'll be using this as a supplementary textbook in all the medical ethics classes I teach.