According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, there are up to one million Americans suffering from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and millions more around the world. There are many books about illness, but very few writers convey the courage and hope of battling a chronic illness as eloquently as Jim Lang. "Learning Sickness" is the compelling narrative of Jim's battle with Crohn's Disease.

Diagnosed at the age of 26, Jim spent the next five years coming to terms with how to live with a chronic illness. During that time he fathered two children, earned a Ph.D., accepted his first teaching position, and launched a writing career. Jim Lang provides an absolutely unflinching look at the way the disease can penetrate into every aspect of a person's life: physical, emotional, and spiritual. He tackles the most sensitive areas of the disease with grace and skill, and wraps it all into a gripping narrative of illness and recovery that demonstrates how suffering can produce a special kind of wisdom. This book will help millions of Americans, and countless others around the globe, understand they do not suffer alone, and it will provide friends, families, and colleagues of sufferers with their first real glimpse into the toll the disease can take on their lives.

Rodger DeRose, President and CEO of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America says, "Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn's Disease' is a beautifully written, frank account of one man's struggle to come to terms with the chronic illness that altered every aspect of his life. This is an inspiring and informative book that will be of value to all patients, whether they have lived with inflammatory bowel disease for many years or have just been diagnosed."

James M. Lang is a professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, MA where he teaches writing workshops in creative nonfiction and courses in contemporary British literature. He writes a regular column about academic life called "The Tenure-Track Diaries" for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He is a regular contributor to Notre Dame Magazine and to regional parenting publications across the nation. Jim lives with his wife and three daughters in Worcester, MA.

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