Heather Tosteson

Illness & Grace, Terror & Transformation Heather Tosteson

Publisher Marketing: ILLNESS & GRACE, TERROR & TRANSFORMATION, Heather Tosteson and Charles D. Brockett, Editors, Wising Up Press. In this contemporary anthology of personal memoirs, stories, and poetry contemporary writers explore themes of illness and trauma and the wide variety of ways in which we respond to them. Authors ponder the impact of cancer, ALS, stroke, juvenile diabetes, dementia, chronic fatigue syndrome, anorexia, accidental death, schizophrenia, PTSD, domestic and sexual abuse on them, their families, friends. The collection will be of special interest to people who have experienced or are experiencing illness or trauma themselves or in those close to them and would like to explore the meaning of these life-challenging experiences further. The book is designed to be read by the general public, and also in reading groups, writing groups, and support groups. It includes an opening essay on how we as readers can listen faithfully to these stories and a closing one for people who would like to explore the ways writing can help us order and integrate powerful life-changing events. Contributor Bio:  Brockett, Charles D Charles D. Brockett received his Ph. D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina in 1974. He is the author of Land, Power, and Poverty: Agrarian Transformation and Political Conflict in Central America, which was selected as a Choice 'Outstanding Academic Book' of 1988. He is also the author of numerous articles published in scholarly journals and edited volumes, including the American Political Science Review and Latin American Research Review. In recognition of his work, he has received Fulbright awards for participation in the South America Today program in 1995 and for lecturing/research in Guatemala in 2000, the John B. Stephenson Fellowship from the Appalachian College Association, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend.