This month we talk with Georgetown Professor and author of ”Invisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long Covid.,” Emily Mendenhall.

”From lupus to Lyme, invisible illness is often dismissed by everyone but the sufferers. Why does the medical establishment continually insist that, when symptoms are hard to explain, they are probably just in your head?”

Emily takes a unique historical approach in her book while weaving in  a number of patient stories in an advocacy ”tone.” 

She interviewed over 150 patients (including me,) and chronic illness professionals for the book.

We address the early ”Bluesky blow-up” where she took some ”heat” for some of the passages in her book, historical context of disability and invisible illnesses, the unavoidable ”politics,” The Anthony Fauci Senate hearing, and of course a recurring segment on the show; ”Movie Quotes.”

It was a thrill to catch up with her again as I'd worked with her over the last 2-3 years on my story also presented in the book.

A couple of notes on the episode, I refer to Covid.org but should have been Covid.Gov. Should make more sense with the right link. While the Wired Magazine article; ”The Painful Truth About Long Covid,” by Alan Levinovitz, We did not have the time to dive deep into this; the link to my Substack post on the topic referenced on the show can be found HERE.

https://substack.com/@seekingbostonmarathon/p-200315063

The Butterfly Pavilion Podcast follows the journey of a father with metastasized stage IV prostate cancer and his daughter. Wanting to capture stories and maximize his time with his daughter was the genesis of the show. 

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