The first sizeable cohort of people living with cystic fibrosis (CF) has now reached adulthood. Gradual improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease have increased life expectancy to approximately 32 years. Members of this cohort have lived all their lives near, at, or slightly beyond life expectancy. The authors tell the story of Lori Morris-Hughes, a 36-year old who balances the demands of work and family life with life-long terminal illness. Whereas many accounts of medical advancement write the lived experiences of the ill out of history, Morris-Hughes's illness narrative provides an account of the ways in which the temporal and social conditions of existence are problematic for those who live during times of increased life expectancy. Oral history is a particularly appropriate method of research in the field of illness narrative.

Schubert, J. Daniel and Margaret Murphy. The Struggle to Breathe: Living at Life Expectancy with Cystic Fibrosis. The Oral History Review 32, no.1 (2005): 35-55. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/uohr20/32/1?nav=tocList

Dan Schubert is a professor of Sociology at Dickinson College.

For more information on the published version, visit Taylor & Francis Online website.

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