A Poet's View On Parenting And Chronic Illness

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Credit Seedison.com

Poet Suzanne Edison

Poet Suzanne Edison knows the ups and downs of chronic illness too well. Her daughter has juvenile myositis, a rare autoimmune disorder. Today she reads two poems about the way her child’s illness affects her parenting: “Betrayal” and “Bloodwork.”

Edison is a psychotherapist and serves as the family support director for the Cure JM Foundation. She leads “Writing As a Righting Journey: Workshop for Parents Whose Children Live with a Chronic Illness” at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Her reading was recorded in the KUOW Studios on Jan. 11, 2013.