'There has been a pressing need for a book like this for some time. Gwyn cogently reviews the literature on discourse analysis as it pertains to medical and health matters. Introducing original research from his own studies allows him to vividly illustrate just how important it is to understand the role played by discourse. Students of health communication and the sociology of health and illness will find this book integral to their studies' - Deborah Lupton.In this book, Richard Gwyn demonstrates the centrality of discourse analysis to an understanding of health and communication. Focusing on language and communication issues he demonstrates that it is possible to observe and analyze patterns in the ways in which health and illness are represented and articulated by both health professionals and lay people. "Communicating Health and Illness": explores culturally validated notions of health and sickness and the medicalization of illness; surveys media representations of health and illness; considers the metaphoric nature of talk about illness; and contributes to the ongoing debate in relation to narrative based medicine.