This ground-breaking book outlines the lessons we can learn from better understanding the words we use to describe illness. Shanahan looks at the ways in which language can act as a barrier with regard to illness, and proposes practical ways in which we can dismantle these barriers. The book is an appeal for the use of clearer, more holistic language, by all those involved with, and affected by, illness.

Fergus Shanahan MD, DSc, MRIA, is emeritus professor of medicine at University College Cork and was foundation director of the SFI-funded research centre APC Microbiome Ireland. A clinician-scientist with over forty years’ experience, he has received international awards for his contributions to medical science and the medical humanities. In 2013 Science Foundation Ireland named him as its Researcher of the Year.