Last night I read...

About half of A Brain Wider Than the Sky: A Migraine Diary by Andrew Levy. On the whole, I am a concrete person whereas he is abstract and loves academics, metaphysics, philosophy. Also, he has migraines with aura, but I do not. There were still some passages of his book that rang true for me and that touched me. A few quotes:

"it was an instinct: keep away from people unless I could act like one of them" p. 67

How I believe my former boss perceived my migraines: "It seizes her when she likes, where she likes, for as long as she likes." p. 68

"Then migraine, like any chronic disease, is a real declaration. And, as the migraineur, I am the one who declares war. I am the agressor, even as I am the victim." p. 68

"Talcott Parsons wrote, there is a social contract between a sick person and a sick person's audience...The sick person should be regarded as the victim of forces beyond his control. In exchange for this grace, however, which includes exemption from ordinary daily obligations and expectations, the sick person has to acknowledge that being sick is undesirable and that measures should be taken to maximize the chance to facilitate recovery." p. 76

To me, he pinpoints the negotiations and politics of it all-- and how easily relationships can go awry if either party isn't fully committed to making things work.

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