The Renewal of Generosity

Through engaging narratives of illness, medical work, and nursing in which people choose to act in ways that affirm their humanity, The Renewal of Generosity depicts the transformation of demoralized medicine into caring relationships through generosity—generosity towards both others and oneself. Arthur Frank demonstrates how generosity is renewed through dialogue, and he also distinguishes authentic dialogue from mere talk. For Frank, medicine is the face-to-face encounter that comes before and after pharmaceuticals, surgeries, and diagnostics. His is a book for people on both sides of the medical encounter who want to offer more to those they meet, and who want a more enriching experience for themselves. A work of enormous grace and compassion, The Renewal of Generosity expands our vision of illness and healing.

"This reflection is starkly honest and never pedantic or condescending. . . . Through a rich telling of stories and reflection on them, Frank conducts a complex symphony of ideas about medicine with writing from a wide range of authors that models how readers might enact and experience the complex, subtle meaning of generosity and gratitude in their own practices. . . . Physicians should rush to read this book, and I hope that patients will join them."—George J. Agich, New England Journal of Medicine

"Frank's vision of how a lost sense of story could be restored to medicine is both lucid and profound.... In his new book, The Renewal of Generosity, he examines clinical situations in which health care workers who do bring a sense of narrative to bear have transformative effects." - Melanie Thernstrom, New York Times Magazine "This reflection is starkly honest and never pedantic or condescending.... Through a rich telling of stories and reflection on them, Frank conducts a complex symphony of ideas about medicine with writing from a wide range of authors that models how readers might enact and experience the complex, subtle meaning of generosity and gratitude in their own practices.... Physicians should rush to read this book, and I hope that patients will join them." - George J. Agich, New England Journal of Medicine"

Arthur W. Frank is professor of sociology at the University of Calgary. He is the author of At the Will of the Body: Reflections on Illness and The Wounded Storyteller, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

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