Book Announcement | The Examined Illness: A Philosopher's Confrontation with Deadly Disease

The Examined Illness

Intellect is pleased to share that The Examined Illness: A Philosopher's Confrontation with Deadly Disease, by Darrel Moellendorf, is out in paperback and hardback.

A visceral personal memoir of being seriously unwell – and the consolations of philosophy during sickness. Being a patient is part of being alive. Disease and serious illness often strike randomly, and when they do, we quickly become subject to the impersonal forces of biochemistry and pharmacology. We rarely think about sickness beforehand and are often totally unprepared for it when it happens. Suddenly, there we are, subject to a standard treatment protocol. Darrel Moellendorf learned this by experience during a month confined to a solitary and sterile hospital room where he received a life-saving stem cell transplant. His room was somebody’s workspace, his schedule was somebody’s work routine, his immune system was systematically crushed, and his prognosis was out of his hands. There was no assurance that it would all work out.

Having spent thirty years teaching philosophy to college students, He was facing the biggest test of all—perhaps the final exam. These are his reflections before, during, and after his cancer treatment, written in real time. He writes, “My brain was sometimes addled by the chemotherapy that sapped my energy and destroyed my immune system, but I wrote out of the conviction that living well includes living well with disease, and eventually living well facing death.” This memoir expresses the conviction that the virtues of patience, courage, trust, and hope serve us well. A measure of good humor also can’t hurt.

Part of the Global Health Humanities series.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introductory Note

Part I: Diagnosis
1. First Thoughts and Second Opinions
2. Healthcare for All Pt. 1
3. Patients and Patience
4. Father to Son and Back
5. Give It Up for Lent!

Part II: Inside
6. Day 7: The Countdown Begins
7. Day 6: Carpe Diem
8. Day 5: Vegetarianism Is Not an Option
9. Day 4: Sweatin’ and Shakin’
10. Day 3: Making Decisions When You Can’t Think
11. Day 2: Nausea and Fatigue
12. Day 1: Courage
13. Day 0: Communion
14. Day +1: Confinement
15. Day +2: Waiting and Anxiety
16. Day +3: Relaxed
17. Day +4: Toiling and Spinning
18. Day +5: Healthcare for All Pt. 2
19. Day +6: Patience and Hope?
20. Day +7: A Letter Arrives
21. Day +8: Anaemia
22. Day +9: Why I Write
23. Day +10: Why I Dyed My Hair Blue
24. Day +11: Shorn
25. Day +12: Tired, Itchy, and Hiccupping
26. Day +13: Waiting
27. Day +14: Signs of Progress
28. Day +15: Turn Me Lose, Set Me Free
29. Day +16: Fresh Air
30. Day +17: Postponement

Part III: Recovery
31. Home Sweet Home
32. Home Update
33. The Social Determinants of My Survival
34. Letting the Days Go By
35. A Thread of Good Fortune
36. Magical Thinking
37. Hope Kept Me Eating
38. Sunshine, Suffering, Rebirth, and Freedom
39. Food Aversions
40. Inching Towards Normalcy
41. Human Fatigue and Canine Anxiety
42. Healthcare for All Pt. 3
43. Still Wearing My Helmet
44. Same as It Ever Was
45. Who Is That Masked Man?
46. Inspiration in the Oncology/Haematology Waiting Room
47. With a Little Help from My Friends
48. Springtime on My Face
49. Feeling the Love … and the Likes
50. Disease, Bodily Alienation, and Transhumanism
51. Dem Fingernails
52. Traversing the Rim of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
53. The Examined Illness

Epilogue: Living with Mortality
References

Please visit our website for more information:

www.intellectbooks.com/the-examined-illness

--

My source: Georgia Glasspole

Marketing Executive (she/her)

Intellect  | 0117 9589910 | georgia AT intellectbooks.com

Host|Guest by Hospital Rooms

To mark its 10-year anniversary, arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms presents a major exhibition at Victoria Miro this September.

Bringing together leading contemporary artists from across the Hospital Rooms programme, the exhibition features re-creations of monumental new artworks created for hospitals this year, alongside artists the organisation has collaborated with over the past decade. It reflects on the impact of transforming NHS mental health environments through art, while looking ahead to expanding access to creative programmes nationwide.

Host|Guest

My source: Ellee Su, Gallery, HOSPITAL ROOMS, FT Weekend Magazine, Number 1,192. 5 September 2026, pp.10-11.

Apollo - Artemis II and the Joy of Earth

Since Artemis II was launched, several more-senior people in the media have been interviewed, with their reflections on certain lunar events in 1969 with the Apollo programme.

 

I too remember being woken up, taking several giant steps down the stairs and huddling around the black & white TV set in the early hours. I'm so glad I did that.

 

Thanks mum and dad. X

 

Following the livestream from Artemis, it's brilliant to see Christina Koch and Victor Glover onboard too.

 

INDIVIDUAL

|

    INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

art002e008487 (April 4, 2026) - NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon. Image Credit: NASA

"I have not complained about the weather one single time. I'm glad there is weather. I've not complained about traffic. I'm glad there are people around. One of the things that I did when I got home - I went down to shopping centers, and I'd just go around there, get an ice cream cone or something, just watch the people go by, and think: "Boy, we're lucky to be here. Why do people complain about the Earth? We are living in the garden of Eden."                     Alan Bean. Apollo 12

Image: NASA

Text: https://www.livingspace.earth/home/2018/5/remembering-alan-bean
 

Previously: 'Apollo' : 'exploration' : 'moon' 

The 2025 peace laureate

The 2025 peace laureate

'The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.'

Individual

|

      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC =========================  MECHANISTIC      

 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 

|

Group

María Corina
Machado	Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

'Nurse Emmanuel' by The Unthanks

'Nurse Emmanuel by The Unthanks is taken from the album The Unthanks - In Winter, out now. Listen to the whole album here: https://linktr.ee/theunthanksinwinter The song is written by Vanessa Lampert and Adrian McNally, set to the tune of O Holy Night, and is in tribute to the NHS, the work that medical professionals did over Covid, and the message that the NHS is in our hands, to protect and appreciate.'

My source: 'X' @TheUnthanks

Prev. 'music'

Patriot

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

	Patriot by Alexei Navalny

Source: Various

Danse des petits cygnes - "NO TO WAR"

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC -----------------------------------  MECHANISTIC    

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

 

BBC Radio 4 PM close, 4th March 2022: Dozhd (TV Rain) 

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/russian-tv-station-mass-walk-out-live-new-law-punishes-fake-news-imprisonment-1497828

Book: "In Search of Mary Seacole"

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC -----------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

Community - GROUP - Population   

Mary	In Search of Mary Seacole
Seacole "Known by the British Troops in Crimea as 'Mother Seacole', she was a nurse, pharmacist, humanitarian, businesswoman and patriot."	The Turkish Order of the Medjidie French Legion of Honour British Crimea Medal

 

Photo taken in Richard Booth's Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye, 19th February 2022.

Owolade, T. (2022) The myth of Mother Seacole, Culture, The Sunday Times, 13 February, p.22.

 

Raymonda ...

... Care Aesthetics :: Care Architecture :: 

Care Choreography :: Care Design :: Care Journeys ...

"An epic journey of love and courage.

Taking inspiration from the ground-breaking spirit of Florence Nightingale and the women who supported the war effort in Crimea, Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, creates a new version of the classic story ballet, Raymonda.

England, 1854. Raymonda runs away from her comfortable life to become a nurse in the Crimean War. There, she becomes engaged to a soldier, John, but soon develops feelings for his friend Abdur, a leader of the Ottoman army. As turmoil grows around and inside her, who will she give her heart to?

Starring a huge cast of dancers and a full orchestra, this lavish adaptation keeps the best of the 19^th-century original – its glorious and sensuous score by Alexander Glazunov and the classical choreography of ballet genius Marius Petipa – and updates it with a dramatic new story.

Introducing a heroine in command of her own destiny, and celebrating the courage of nurses and women who fought for emancipation, this beautiful production is guaranteed to thrill, move and inspire.

The original Raymonda is very rarely performed in the UK, where no dance company performs it in its entirety. This highly-anticipated version marks Tamara Rojo’s debut in directing and choreographing, building on her illustrious career as dancer and artistic director.

..."

https://www.ballet.org.uk/production/raymonda/

The Trailblazing Nurses of the Crimean War

My source: RCN Bulletin 394: Winter 2021, p.26.

 

Pioneering safe staffing whistleblower nurse dies aged 91: c/o RCNi

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Graham Pink at his home in Manchester in January 2008 Picture: Neil O'Connor courage : compassion : values : commitment : leadership

"A nurse who was among the first in the UK to blow the whistle on safe staffing issues has died aged 91. Graham Pink first raised concerns about poor staffing and the dangers to patients when he worked at Stepping Hill Hospital in Greater Manchester in 1990. His four-year campaign to highlight inadequate staffing levels made a lasting impression on the nursing profession. Mr Pink died on 6 March in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nurses caring for him remembered his safe staffing campaign Speaking to Nursing Standard about his final months, his niece and carer Sarah Pink said: ‘Barnsley Hospital gave him a lot of care and attention and treated him with a huge amount of respect. There were nurses caring for him who said they knew him from what he did and how he stood up for the NHS back then. One sister said it was an honour to meet him and take care of him.’"

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh RIP

https://www.rcn.org.uk/employment-and-pay/safe-staffing

My source: RCNi via twitter: 

https://twitter.com/rogerkline/status/1380398894740348929?s=20

Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program for 2021

Registration open Oct 1

Dear All

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program for 2021!  The aim of the fellowship is to develop leaders who understand the foundations of health inequity and have the knowledge, skills, and courage to build more equitable health systems and organizations.

Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity is a one year fellowship opportunity designed for early to mid-career leaders who are currently engaged in health sector work including, but not limited to, academia, government, healthcare delivery, the arts, equitable housing, business, research, and media. The program will select twenty fellows. Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity is one of seven global, interconnected Atlantic Fellows programs. While each of the seven Atlantic Fellows programs is distinct and grounded in its local context, they share a common purpose of advancing fairer, healthier, more inclusive societies.

The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program is designed to bring together the diverse industries, professions and leaders that influence health and well-being.  There are no specific educational requirements or ‘preferred’ professions - we are a community united by values.  The shared attributes and values of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity include solutions orientation, equity, inclusivity, courage, humility, diversity, and creativity.  If you share these values, we encourage you to apply!

More information about the program can also be found in the attached flyer and on our website, https://healthequity.atlanticfellows.org/.

Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries. 

Sincerely,
Seble

Seble L Frehywot MD, MHSA
Associate Professor of Global Health and Health Policy
Department of Global Health & Department of Health Policy & Management

Director of Global Health Equity On-Line Learning
Atlantic Philanthropy-Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity Program

Milken Institute School of Public Health
The George Washington University

950 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20052

 My source: HIFA

Courage: One of the 6Cs - for Individual & Governments? [i]

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Courage is perhaps one of the more challenging of the 6Cs for learners to grasp and even for experienced staff  to exercise. As a concept a definition is easy to find. Courage is often associated with whistleblowing. Over the decades whistleblowing has proved critical and vexed to both an individual's career and organizations.  Hodges' model encourages us to expand on this ...

The courage of seeking data, information, knowledge, diagnosis and prognosis Address: assumptions : misinformation : disinformation ["Dr Google", fake news, drugs online..?] Disclosure or withholding information ||||||||||||||| LONG GRASS |||||||||||||||

Husbands, wives, partners, sons and daughters with many friends find courage every moment of everyday (and many nights) when caring for someone living with dementia and other chronic illnesses. Practitioners may need courage to challenge promises made by family members that - "A nursing home? Never!" But, is the patient still at the centre of concern in these cases? Care at home at any cost? This can be the 'record' that matters to families.

Governments of all hues and globally are vested with courage, but how they exercise this quality depends vitally on governance. This is same reason, constraint that operates on the individual. "Do I? Don't I?" becomes "Do we? Don't we?" But then that individual practitioner is (must be) supported (governed) by supervision and the deliberations of the multidisciplinary team. What is the governments' record? Do governments have the courage to address the problems sustainable health and social care presents? Or, do they just kick the  problem...

Courage [ii]: One of the 6Cs - for Individual & Governments?

What does professionalism mean to me? #IND2017 (dnf: draft never finished)

Something along, within and across these lines...

INDIVIDUAL

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

POPULATION

Being self-aware, reflective and reflexive including aspects of your role that either you don't especially like, or you're just not 'good' at. Recognise when to ask for help, advice, supervision. Anticipating needs. Indicating pros and cons. Keeping up-to-date. *Have the courage to blow that whistle if you must. Communicate to the best of your ability and learn constantly as human nature dictates you must. Look after yourself: if ill Be ill. Take care of your personal ethics and values, don't be bullied into lowering them and running with the crowd. Nurse = Lifelong Learner ... then you will question your own competence. As you strive to be someone else remember you can be yourself. The things you take personally are those you open the door to. Learn from them. Never forget your shield, protect yourself and others in what you disclose about yourself and others.

Being compass-ionate requires 360 degree vision, hearing ... learning and forgetting... Your keen are you? So really observe. Care about time, your management of it as a resource and the time frames of past, now, future, hoped for and imagined. Remember you need to understand information systems, data management in so far as it supports or places at risk the care you deliver and the safety of your patients. If I use IT based media I bear in mind the scope of the platform. Open to innovation: but see the elephant as an elephant. When the robots knock on your door being professional means you won't be in: "Moved On" As you care, draw on learning regards where you stand -  you are a guest in someone's home, As your feet are then grounded politically, so too is touch and negotiating personal spaces.

Learn from others  Expectations Expectations Expectations Manage them in a way such that you do not make promises you can not keep. Be committed to what you do. Learn from your peers, especially for safety's sake, but also form your own opinion. Talk this and work through with colleagues. Not everyone will 'like' you; you in turn may not 'like' people. Working through this (without experiencing abuse) as your role demands is being professional. By all means be a team player, but don't let the games that people play distract you from being professional. Patient-Carer Community Care End of Life Care  As you learn from others  pay most attention to the lessons  in Love as you will witness many.

The trust and respect of others take time to earn, but can be lost in an instant; if you have 'it' use it to foster trust and self-respect in others. You have to remember constantly you are accountable here. Remind yourself of codes of conduct the legal aspects of your role. Know your lines - especially when crossed | STANDARDS. With your ID have your whistle ready*. What you do and who you are is a privilege. Know your scope of practice, but be ready to question it. If you do not the future will. This domain is the most powerful and neglected to the professional nurse. As a professional what are YOU going to DO here? The art of leadership is filled with wonder: at what together you can all achieve. Take stock and ask in Year 1 what are the legacy issues my seniors are wrestling with? In years 10 20 30 40 ... (robotics permitting) repeat and reflect.

... because, being professional means learning and unlearning when the lines are there for a purpose and when they need to be shifted, lifted or plain erased ...

Previous post c/o NMC

The moon, Saturn V, policy and holistic care

The last time human kind ventured to the moon it took a three-stage rocket to get us there.

Unlike the space race and Kennedy's breathtaking commitment, there never has been a political objective akin to - "We choose to achieve holistic care in this decade, and do the other things like multidisciplinary, integrated, electronically supported collaborative care. ..."

Perhaps the UK's series of National Service Frameworks goes some way towards this, with the Next Stage Review over the next decade set to make the holistic difference?

So, it appears that the objective of holistic care isn't easy, like going to the moon it is hard and in this problem domain - care engineering - we have had more than a decade to get there.

There has been a space race in nursing. A race to fill curricula, wards and the heads of many with models and theories of nursing.

Like Apollo this race has petered out.
Like Apollo this programme is safety critical.
Like Apollo ambition can be re-kindled.

We need a new imperative. Something to charge policy landscape of our time. There is still a need to deliver on this and the other things....

Hodges' model is a marvellous delivery system.

Unlike the Saturn V it boasts four stages.
Like the Saturn V it incorporates the means to take us to some place and make the journey back: quantity - quality and the universe between.

The stages of h2cm are interchangeable their use dictated by the situation and context. There is even recourse to a virtual fifth stage as required, since as the astronauts found:

you can find bliss up there : looking down here

Image source: ABC News

Ack: John F. Kennedy Moon Speech - Rice Stadium