So Much More than a Headache: Understanding Migraine through Literature In-Person
With over 39 million migraine sufferers in the United States (Migraine Research Foundation), a unique book was needed to replace only the self help books previously available.
“English,” wrote Virginia Woolf, “which can express the thoughts of Hamlet and the tragedy of Lear, has no words for the shiver and the headache. . . . let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry.” Despite Woolf’s astute observation and the apparent dearth of writings on such subjects, editor Kathleen O’Shea has managed to gather a wide selection of helpful excerpts, chapters, poetry, and even a short play in this anthology—all with a view toward increasing our understanding of and ending the stigma attached to migraine and migraine sufferers.
Unlike clinical materials, this anthology addresses the feelings and symptoms that the writers have experienced, sometimes daily. These pieces speak freely about the loneliness and helplessness one feels when a migraine comes on. The sufferer faces nausea, pain, and sensitivity to light, all while having the veracity of all these symptoms doubted by others. O’Shea, a professor of literature and a migraine sufferer herself, also includes an original essay of her own reflections.
Join Editor/Author Kathy O'Shea and Physical Therapist-Migraine Specialist Jennifer Tuller for this special presentation. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Please note that masks are required for all at the Central Library.
- Date:
- Wednesday, November 3, 2021
- Time:
- 5:30pm - 6:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Central - Kusler-Cox Auditorium
- Library:
- Central Library
- Audience:
- Adults Seniors Teens
- Categories:
- Department - Science, History & Technology Book Talk/Review Health Science & Innovation
- Attachments: