The Pain Chronicles

Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering

By: Melanie Thernstrom

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Each of us will know physical pain in our lives, but none of us knows when it will come or how long it will stay. Today as much as 10 percent of the population of the United States suffers from chronic pain. It is more widespread, misdiagnosed, and undertreated than any major disease. While recent research has shown that pain produces pathological changes to the brain and spinal cord, many doctors and patients still labor under misguided cultural notions and outdated scientific dogmas that prevent proper treatment, to devastating effect.

In The Pain Chronicles, a singular and deeply humane work, Melanie Thernstrom traces conceptions of pain throughout the ages - from ancient Babylonian pain-banishing spells to modern brain imaging - to reveal the elusive, mysterious nature of pain itself. Interweaving first-person reflections on her own battle with chronic pain, incisive reportage from leading-edge pain clinics and medical research, and insights from a wide range of disciplines - science, history, religion, philosophy, anthropology, literature, and art - Thernstrom shows that when dealing with pain we are neither as advanced as we imagine nor as helpless as we may fear.

©2010 Melanie Thernstrom (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Thernstrom never flinches in the face of a subject that is easily overlooked or judged by those for whom it is, ironically, too painful. This is stellar work." (Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones)

This Book Has Changed My Life...

Thank you, Ms. Thernstrom. Your story, and the information you so generously shared has helped me reach a turning point in my battle against chronic pain. Anyone who has experienced living with this disorder can see that you know what you are talking about. I desperately needed this, and have been improving steadily since reading your book. You have my gratitude.

Well done.

Started out thinking I wouldn't be able to get through it, but it was very insightful. As a Physical Therapist myself it helped me to have a little better understanding of my patients view of chronic pain. I have already used multiple examples from this book to help with the understanding of pain from a non clinical perspective. The history of pain was long, but interesting. Definately Recommend for clinicians and for patients. Would even be helpful for those who live with people suffering from chronic pain.

Some good Information

I personally wasn't too interested in the personal account. Found I didn't relate to it. But, so much great information. Recommended.

Great for loved ones of chronic pain sufferers

I read the book because my wife has been in pain for several years. While reading this book cannot put me in her shoes, it did give me a better understanding of what being in constant pain does to a person. Moreover, it gave me a much better understanding of the separation between pain perception and injury. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves someone who has chronic pain.

interesting book but marred by self indulgence

The author is a New York Times reporter who interweaves the history, culture and medicine of pain with her own failed romance (meets married partner-to-be at the same time she develops chronic pain). The result is she lacks any critical distance about her lovelife, which mars an otherwise interesting account of chronic pain. Her history of medicine shows that conceptions of pain have been continuously re-interpreted; good point, but how many times do you want to hear her announce what an insight this is? I would imagine her editor had a long battle with her and lost.beta inappVoteInfo

objective overview of pain and it's treatment

This book provided an objective and interesting look at the history of and current state of the art in how we look at and perceive pain. The author is able to bring her personal perspective of a life dealing with pain, and still be fairly objective for the most part. All in all, an interesting read.

Super interesting

I wish the information was more organized, but this book is still one of the better resources out there that I have found. in particular, the author does a wonderful job of articulating the personal, inter personal, psychological, and the existential experiences and difficulties faced by people with chronic pain. She manages to put into words many things that I cannot, though I am no slouch. Even though no solutions are presented that will help me, it is very useful just to see someone writing of her pain in a way that I can relate to so well. It helps me to not feel insane, to banish self doubt about whether I am misdescribing the magnitude of what I experience, the insidiousness of it. It makes me feel 'seen' as they say, and that is a tremendous thing.

Great book

I am still listening, but I am impressed. I was a little afraid of the book at first because of the nature of the topic, but I am glad I dove in anyway. This book really woke me up to the antiquated attitudes we have about chronic pain. Future generations will be every bit is shocked by how we treat chronic pain patients as we are by past rascism. Think I am being melodramatic or making an inappropriate comparison? Listen for yourself and see if you still feel that way.

Outstanding!

Do not miss this book if you suffer from, care for, or interact with someone with chronic pain! Perhaps a bit lengthy, it is worth every word--and can easily be consumed in sections. (Although often
hard to pause!) As a longtime healthcare consumer, friend, professional, and fellow human, this book is at the top of my recommended resources for this topic!

Overall, a good and interesting book

I thought this was a really unique book. It mashes together a broad history of how different cultures and races have perceived and managed pain throughout the centuries. This by itself would have gotten tedious after a while, so the author blends it with her own diaries and experiences with dealing with her own chronic pain. It got to be a little long towards the end, but I feel this book enriched my understanding of pain. Also, it is well narrated.