Strong at the Broken Places

The author of Blindsided “gives a voice to the voiceless—the chronically disabled who, in our health-conscious society, are defined by their disease” (Providence [RI] Journal).

New York Times–bestselling author Richard M. Cohen spent three years chronicling the lives of five diverse “citizens of sickness”: Denise, who suffers from ALS; Buzz, whose Christian faith helps him deal with his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; Sarah, a determined young woman with Crohn’s disease; Ben, a college student with muscular dystrophy; and Larry, whose bipolar disorder is hidden within. Differing in age and gender, race and economic status, all five are determined to live life on their own terms. In Strong at the Broken Places, Cohen shares these inspirational and revealing stories, which offer lessons for us all—on self-determination, on courage in the face of adversity and public ignorance, on keeping hope alive.

We are all strong at the broken places—stronger than we think.

“The strength of these profiles derives from Cohen’s focus on chronic illnesses that, as he notes, are not ‘sexy’ and generally ‘do not resolve themselves’ . . . These are stories dense with quotidian details.” —The Washington Post

“Extraordinary.” —Larry King

“Career journalist Cohen doesn’t flinch from probing for truth about relationships, money, fear, and death . . . One only hopes that, with their group presentation to a class of Harvard medical students, these five taught young medicos as much as they could teach Cohen and, through him, us.” —Booklist