Living Posthumously: Confronting the Loss of Vital Powers

""`To tell you the truth,' Betty said, `you don't look so good.'"" So begins Schmookler's sensitive account of the challenges that face those (including himself) who suffer from illness. For years, Schmookler had felt dragged down by a malady that was never diagnosed and which, he says, ""largely abated"" during the writing of this book. That experience leads him to reflect on the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the loss of vital powers (""movement is the essence of the animate; perhaps it was my inability to move on that was the essence of my living posthumously""). He tells others' stories, including that of his father, who suffered from Hodgkins' disease, and he quotes numerous thinkers whose words amplify his own. The narrative has a slushy, unstructured feel, but Schmookler's insights are sharp and his writing is clear, even when dealing with intangibles. His honesty, moreover, is refreshing, at times inspiring, marking this as a worthy successor to such seminal works as Norman Cousins's Anatomy of an Illness. Rights (except British, translation, electronic): Jane Dystel. (Feb.)