Jonathan Gleason, "Field Guide to Falling Ill" (Yale UP, 2026)

About this episode

Jonathan Gleason discusses his debut collection of essays, 'Field Guide to Falling Ill', exploring the complexities of America's healthcare system through personal experiences.

Jonathan Gleason spent ten years writing the ten essays in his debut collection, Field Guide to Falling Ill (Yale UP, 2026). In them, Gleason braids together strands from a variety of sources – from his experience with a potentially-lethal blood clot, to his imprisoned uncle, to his journey to access medication to prevent HIV – to analyze America’s healthcare system and the humiliating, confusing, and depersonalizing effects it can often have. The essays approach medicine from a variety of viewpoints, from Jonathan’s perspective as a gay man analyzing the development of HIV medications like AZT and Truvada, to his experience as a Spanish language medical interpreter at a free clinic in Iowa City. But each essay also reminds readers of the importance of understanding the history of our healthcare institutions, and the necessity of feeling less alone when confronted by their myriad failures. Lyrical, poignant, and deeply human, Field Guide to Falling Ill is a poetic approach to understanding medicine in America. For more information on Jonathan and his writing, visit: Jonathan’s website: here Jonathan’s Substack, Histories of Present Illness: here Emily Dufton is the author of…

People in this episode

Guest: Jonathan Gleason

Topics covered

• healthcare system
• HIV
• medical interpretation
• personal essays

Keywords

• Field Guide to Falling Ill
• Yale UP
• essays
• healthcare institutions

Mentioned in this episode

Products: AZT, Truvada

Books & works: Field Guide to Falling Ill, Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise, Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America's Forgotten War on Drugs

Places: America, Iowa City

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