Embodying the Voice: Author Nancy Mairs on Illness (2017)

Nancy Mairs paints a nude self-portrait, all flaws exposed, reflecting a martyrdom in her approach to uncover the universal grievances of chronic illness patients. In her plight with biological warfare, Mairs’ narrative reads like a concerto: from an atonal composition of self-pity to a fierce allegro of acceptance. Or a realization, rather: that to keep her story bottled up inside of her for a single moment longer would deny her personal growth.

Her reticence is clear, and therefore her resilience is also clear. She chooses to speak anyway.

The unapologetic rhetoric of Cixous might serve as external support for Mairs, to both the writer seeking validation and the woman seeking an ally. Consider it an invisible yield sign, allowing Mairs to divulge the precise experiences that she once branded as grotesque and unfit for public consumption.