Women Living with Fibromyalgia: Refusing to Suffer in Silence (Paperback)

Fibromyalgia has no known cause or cure and is impossible to detect through blood tests or other diagnostic techniques. Because it's so difficult to pinpoint or alleviate, fibromyalgia tends to cause guilt and shame in those who suffer from it.

Barbara Keddy examines the experiences of 20 female sufferers, and also investigates the disease within larger societal contexts of gender, class, and race. By taking an already existing personality theory (the highly sensitive person) developed by Elaine Aron and relating this theory to a specific physical condition, the author emphasizes societal and family pressures on women to overextend themselves to the detriment of their health.