Trial By Error

Year: 2026

  • More on the Controversy over Invisible Illness

    Emily Mendenhall’s new book, Invisible Illness: A History from Hysteria to Long COVID, has caused a bit of an uproar in some circles. Mendenhall, a medical anthropologist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., covers a range of what she calls “complex chronic illnesses,” including ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and so on. Last month, an excerpt…

  • Some Things I’ve Read Recently…Maryland Boosts LC Research, van der Zee on CBT, Thoughts on Hope and Chronic Illness

    My rib injury sidelined me for a month. Now that I’m mostly better, I’ve been trying to get back up to speed and catch up with lots of lots of reading (and some viewing). Here are a few items that caught my eye. Maryland seeks to boost Long COVID research, per Sick Times The Sick…

  • New Medical Anthropology Book on Chronic Illness Triggers Controversy

    While I was on medical leave for the last few weeks, the fascist regime’s brownshirts executed two people protesting the military occupation of Minneapolis. (It seems important to make that point before anything else.) Of course, other stuff has been happening too. In the domain of common interest here, a new book, Invisible Illness: A…

  • An Essay on Living with Severe ME

    I’ve been totally out of commission for three weeks while recovering from bruised ribs sustained in a fall. I have devoted most of my time trying to find sitting and lying positions that did not cause excruciating pain. That part is over, and I’m slowly getting back to work and catching up on what’s been…

  • My Unexpected E-Mail Exchange with Alem Matthees

    In recent months, one of the most high-profile people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)—Australian Alem Matthees—has reported significant improvement in his condition. He is still bed-bound, and is still not speaking. This is not, by any means, “recovery.” Nonetheless, the change in Alem’s ability to read, consume information and communicate is remarkable.  As Alem’s…