The Invisible Kingdom
Reimagining Chronic Illness
A poet's account of a decade of mysterious illness, and of a medical system poorly equipped for patients whose symptoms do not fit.
For about a decade Meghan O’Rourke lived with debilitating symptoms that doctors struggled to explain, and she was eventually treated for an autoimmune condition and Lyme disease. This 2022 book grew out of her 2013 New Yorker essay on the experience. It combines memoir with reporting on the science and history of chronic illness, and is sharply critical of a medical system that often discounts patients without a clear diagnosis. It was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
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