The Language of Pain
The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, and Relief
by David Biro
–Reviewed by Jodie C. Liu
Pain is universally felt but poorly articulated. Where doctors may dress it in clinical language and medical terminology, writers and other artists rely on metaphor. The two realms may seem disparate, but in The Language of Pain, David Biro chips away at this division.
Just as Edvard Munch’s iconic “The Scream” could only portray a noiseless cry, there seems a built-in deficiency in language that confines sufferers of pain to silence. But Biro, who teaches and …
