Chapter 4: What “Normal” Means to My Family and I: Life as a Young, Chronically Ill Person

How does chronic illness shape the daily lives of those it affects? What about the families of those affected by chronic illness? For those who have one or more chronic illnesses, the daily impact of their illness is a topic that is not often talked about with their physicians, let alone close friends or family members. In this piece, the author utilizes a layered methodological approach coined, “emotional introspection” (Jago, 2002, p. 730), to illuminate her own experience with chronic illness as a young person with a family, whose daily experiences with chronic illness often go misunderstood by others. Using a social constructionist lens which focuses on stigma, the author also reflects on the consequences of understanding the daily impacts of chronic illness through a rigid, stagnant lens. Finally, the author draws on the analysis of her and her own family’s experiences with chronic illness to demonstrate the need for research that brings to light the intricacies that shape not only the daily lives of those who have chronic illnesses but also their families.