Narrative Medicine: A Patient's Perspective

In 2006, Dana Creighton was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia, an inherited neurological condition that also took the lives of her mother and several family members. Fifteen years later, she has published a powerful new memoir, A Family Disease: A Memoir of Multigenerational Ataxia, drawing on research in neuroplasticity, personal memories, and medical records to highlight how the stories we tell about illness can create meaning out of trauma. Following a reading from her memoir, Ms. Creighton and her neurologist, Dr. Sneha Mantri, will join in conversation.