Publisher's Synopsis
"If scars are the memory of pain, then this volume is a body of those memories recollected as stories--stories as compelling, as vivid, as dramatic as the thing, the scar, itself." -Lisa Sanders, Yale School of Medicine, the doctor behind House, M.D. and New York Times "Diagnosis" Columnist
"Each voice seeks to make sense of visible, tactile memories of pain, claiming scars as essential to the person they have become. Collectively, these voices give testimony to the connection between self-expression and resilience." -Arthur W. Frank, The Wounded Storyteller and At the Will of the Body
Scars: An Anthology examines the range and nuance of experience related to scars of the body. The collection assembles the writings of activists, academics, parents, patients, performance artists, physicians, poets, siblings, spouses, students, and writers. Through various genres and mediums-personal narratives, interviews, poems, academic essays, images, a review, and a performance script-contributors address self-mutilation, creating art, gender confirmation surgery, cancer, birth, brain injury, war, coming of age, pain, and love, all focusing on the central question of what it means to live with physical scars.
Renowned contributors include photographer and SCAR Project founder David Jay, AWP Award winning author Jill Christman, Piedmont Laureate Scott Huler, physician/faminist activist/author Dr. Sayantani DasGupta, author Maurice Carlos Ruffin, comedian Kelli Dunham, disability scholar and performer Jim Ferris, Hudson Valley artist Lorrie Fredette, and many more. Scars: An Anthology has been part of panels at Columbia University, The Arkansas Literary Festival, The Louisiana Book Festival, and elsewhere.
