Trial By Error

Year: 2026

  • 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…