the Chronic Illness Postcard project
a memoir
The Chronic Illness Memoir Postcards began after studying British Photographer Jo Spence’s Reworking the Family Album article, originally published in a Media Education journal in 1990. In a nutshell, Spence directs the readers to gather every image they can find of themselves in their photo albums and the albums of others, sort the images chronologically by year, select the most significant image from each year, and then journal about the images. I went through this process, identifying images that I could vividly recall a specific memory related to my chronic illnesses. My first memory of something not being right dates back into the early 1980s. My most recent moments were in late 2018. I don’t photographically record the moments, rather I wait until I see an image of myself that invokes a memory related to my chronic illnesses, and then I turn it into a postcard. There are no purposefully staged moments, only natural moments in life.
There is no end date to this project as there is no end date to my incurable conditions. Conducting this self-investigation not only allowed me to create an archive of these moments in my life, but it also allowed me to share these moments with others. I bravely shared this story with approximately 100 people, some of whom I have never met before. I believe we should be sharing our stories of overcoming obstacles, perseverance, and resilience––it is precisely these conditions that allow us to push beyond our capacities and prove we can handle the next challenge that will get in our way.
To start receiving postcards, click here.