ILLNESS IN THE CONTEXT OF OLDER AGE - THE CASE OF STROKE

Stroke is popularly conceived of as an illness which shatters lives. T he discourse of shattered lives, articulated more generally within the sociological literature on chronic illness as 'biographical disruptio n', is examined with reference to the experience of a sample of predom inantly elderly, working class people living in the East End of London . We begin by exploring the interviewees' responses to the stroke as s omething which was 'not that bad', before going on to examine the plac e of the stroke within the context of these peoples' lives. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which age may mediate illness experi ence.