What's Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine, with Erin Williams
Five years ago, Erin Williams, a writer, illustrator, and visual artist in recovery, was depressed, anxious, and suffering from a constellation of painful digestive disorders. She wandered from specialist to psychiatrist, begging for an integrated explanation, for relief. In her quest to understand her own pain, she also spoke with a few of the other 50 million Americans living with chronic conditions. Her new book, What’s Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine, is about the myriad ways our healthcare system has brutally failed us. It also contains a continued account of her own addiction recovery—an account that she began, beautifully, in her earlier book Commute. We discuss both, and her recovery journey, on this episode of Flourishing After Addiction.
As a bonus for this special episode with the artist Erin Williams, I got permission to post some of the illustrations from her new book, What’s Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine. Head over to my Substack page to see those. You won’t want to miss them.
Erin Williams is the author and illustrator of ten books, including What's Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine, Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame, How to Take Care and the Big Activity Book series (250k+ in print). Her writing and art have also been featured in publications including MoMA Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Believer. She has over a decade of experience in healthcare, specifically data analysis and scientific research. She teaches illustration at Parsons School of Design and creative writing at Hunter College in New York City. You can find Erin on Instagram and Twitter
In this episode:
- What's Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine
- Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame
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