Disrupted bodies: Experiencing the newly limited body in stroke

This article explores the intersection of recovery and bodily practices among stroke survivors. Drawing on the extensive literature on the socially constructed body in general, on chronic illness, and on interactionist thought, we explore bodily experience as a mechanism that informs stroke survivors' understanding and practices of everyday life in recovery. We ask a central question: what practical mechanisms does the survivor employ to provide meaning to her or his newly disrupted body? Data gathered from in-depth interviews with fifty-one discharged stroke survivors show that they use three specific technologies of bodily management and meaning-making. These are managing the body within a mind-body dualism, testing the body in its everyday practices, and orienting to the body as a biographically informed phenomenon.