"A Whole Other Story": The Electronic Narrative of Illness

Faith McLellan studies a cyberspace narrative of illness that grew out of a father's anguish after his son was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The essay discloses ways in which illness narratives on the Internet challenge our conceptions of authorship, readership, and closure. In these narratives, argues McLellan, communication is often spontaneous, yet the text still achieves cohesion despite, or perhaps because of, its multiple and sometimes chaotic voices.