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Resistance, Suffering, and Psychiatric Disability in Jerry Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom and Amandeep Sandhu’s Sepia Leaves

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Part of the book series: Literary Disability Studies ((LIDIST))

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Abstract

This chapter examines two novels that deal with the issue of mental illness and psychiatric disability in the Indian context, Amandeep Sandhu’s Sepia Leaves and Jerry Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom. Drawing upon Arthur Kleinman’s model of resistance and suffering in the context of the lived, embodied experiences of patients, families, and caregivers, this chapter studies the struggle to construct meaning in a world that resists it. Both these novels offer readers complex narratives that bear witness to suffering, making a moving and powerful argument for listening and acknowledging the humanity of people dealing with disability and chronic mental illnesses, refusing to see them merely as patients or political actors with specific agendas.

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Works Cited

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Mallavarapu, S. (2018). Resistance, Suffering, and Psychiatric Disability in Jerry Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom and Amandeep Sandhu’s Sepia Leaves. In: Donaldson, E.J. (eds) Literatures of Madness. Literary Disability Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92666-7_11

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