Stranger in the Village of the Sick: A Memoir of Cancer, Sorcery, and Healing
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
After more than fifty years of good health, anthropologist Paul Stoller suddenly found himself diagnosed with lymphoma. The only thing more transformative than his fear and dread of cancer was the place it ultimately took him: twenty-five years back in time to his days as an apprentice to a West African sorcerer, Adamu Jenitongo.
Read more
Stranger in the Village of the Sickfollows Stoller down this unexpected path toward personal discovery, growth, and healing. The stories here are about life in the village of the healthy and the village of the sick, and they highlight differences in how illness is culturally perceived. In America and the West, illness is war; we strive to eradicate it from our bodies and lives. In West Africa, however, illness is an ever-present companion, and sorcerers learn to master illnesses like cancer through a combination of acceptance, pragmatism, and patience.
Stoller provides a view into the ancient practices of sorcery, revealing that as an apprentice he learned to read divining shells, mix potions, and recite incantations. But it wasn't until he got cancer that he realized that sorcery embodied a more profound meaning, one that every person could use: "Sorcery is a body of knowledge and practice that enables one to see things clearly and to walk with confidence on the path of fear."
Liked Stranger in the Village of the Sick: A Memoir of Cancer, Sorcery, and Healing? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked Stranger in the Village of the Sick: A Memoir of Cancer, Sorcery, and Healing. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
A Different Kind of War Story Shares anthropology, ethnographies, Africa -
Nest in the Wind: Adventures in Anthropology on a Tropical Island Shares anthropology, ethnographies, nonfiction -
Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa Shares anthropology, Africa, nonfiction -
The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People Shares anthropology, Africa, ethnographies
