ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes works of literature written by authors facing their own death. To this end, I compare the theoretical qualities of disability studies with those of narrative medicine. The former has put most of its energy into critiques of the very idea of disability, as a social rather than biomedical category, and uses literary analyses to these ends. Narrative medicine, I argue, can give us a better understanding of literature’s value as a form of consolation, rather than critique, and as a way of confronting existential issues. On this note, I delve into Paul Kalanithi’s memoir When Breath Becomes Air and Maria Gerhardt’s collection of short prose Transfer Window. Focusing on the narrative structure in Kalanithi’s text, I venture that temporality structures his plea for recognition. As Kalanithi becomes more fragile, his outlook on time changes significantly and, as a result, he appeals to readers to reflect on how normative timelines underpin society. Gerhardt’s text, I go on to demonstrate, touches on the relation between disability and modes of socialization. The narrator is surrounded by well-meaning friends and good intentions, but rarely feels recognized. For this reason, Transfer Window can help us grasp the pain of what I call empty recognition.
