Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 
1. Mediating Disruption 
2. Narratives as Cultural Documents 
3· Order and Chaos 
4· Metaphors as Mediators in Disrupted Lives 
5· The Disordered Body 
6. Personal Responsibility for Continuity 
7· Living in Limbo 
8. Creating Order out of Chaos 
9· Healing the Body through the Mind 
10. Metaphors of Transformation 
11. Disruption and the Creation of Continuity 
Appendix: About the Research 
Notes 
References 
Index 

About the Author

Gay Becker is Professor in Residence in Social and Behavioral Sciences and Medical Anthropology at the University of California, San Francisco. Her previous books include Growing Old in Silence (California, 1980) and Healing the Infertile Family (California paperback, 1997).

Reviews

"" Disrupted Lives represents medical anthropology at its best. It is firmly grounded in empirical research involving qualitative anaysis of victims of various disruptions and disorders. At the same time it addresses a carefully formulated theoretical problem, which concerns the relationship between the body, metaphor, and personal identity."--"American Journal of Sociology