https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i3.060
Portraits of Depression through the Lens of Health Humanities: An Analysis of Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness by Kyle Bradford Jones
LIZMOL JOSEPH
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Assumption College (Autonomous), Changanassery, Kerala
Research Scholar
PG and Research Department of English
SB College, Changanassery, Kerala
DR. MINU MARY MATHEW
Associate Professor & Research Guide
Department of English
Assumption College (Autonomous), Changanassery, Kerala
Abstract: The goal of this study is to explore the harrowing experiences that a young physician with depression goes through. The paper would provide an analysis of the memoir written by American Physician Kyle Bradford Jones’ titled Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness within the premise of the theory- Health Humanities. The study also would focus on the trauma and problems a person faces when he/she is suffering from a mental illness. Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary field examining disability through social, cultural, and political lenses, shifting focus from individual deficits (medical model) to societal barriers (social model) that create disability, promoting inclusion, challenging norms, and advocating for rights, rooted in disability rights movements. Narrative Medicine is a diagnostic and comprehensive approach that utilizes patients’ narratives in clinical practice, research, and education to promote healing. Concepts from select theorists of Critical Health humanities, Disability Studies and Narrative Medicine are used to analyse the memoir from a theoretical perspective. Jones through his memoir, tries to lift up the veil of stigma surrounding the concept of mental health by openly speaking about his long years of illness. The study would also look into how the integration of narrative medicine, disability studies and health humanities might create new pathways for understanding, sharing and engaging with medical narratives.
Keywords: Depression, Disability Studies, Narrative Medicine, Health Humanities, Trauma, Survival
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