Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors

When diagnosed with breast cancer Susan Sontag discovered the extent to which we have developed a mythology to cope with disease, which can often distort the truth about illness and isolate the patient. In Illness as Metaphorshe strips away the myths and presents the true significance of disease as it has affected cultures throughout the centuries. AIDS and its Metaphorsextends her critique to examine the metaphors surrounding AIDS and to expose the truth, free of guilt, shame and fear.