Melanie Thernstrom

In the late 1800s, mathematicians fantasized about a machine that could answer any math question at all.

Melanie Thernstrom talks about pain throughout the ages—from ancient Babylonian pain-banishing spells to modern brain imaging—to reveal the mysterious nature of pain itself. In The Pain Chronicles: Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering, she reflects on her own battle with chronic pain, discusses the latest medical research, and gives insights on coping with pain from science, history, religion, philosophy, anthropology, literature, and art.

Melanie Thernstrom talks about pain throughout the ages—from ancient Babylonian pain-banishing spells to modern brain imaging—to reveal the mysterious nature of pain itself. In The Pain Chronicles: Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering, she reflects on her own battle with chronic pain, discusses the latest medical research, and gives insights on coping with pain from science, history, religion, philosophy, anthropology, literature, and art.