Field Guide to Falling Ill: Essays

by Jonathan Gleason, Meghan O'Rourke (Foreword)

From the inaugural winner of the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, a riveting exploration of illness and medicine that imagines a more humane form of care.

“What was wrong with them? That’s what we wanted to know.” So begins Jonathan Gleason’s prizewinning collection of essays on the human lives behind the corporate, legal, and cultural practices that shape disease. Drawing on his experiences as a medical interpreter and patient, and on a decade of historical research, he illuminates a stunning range of topics, including the racial dimensions of organ donation, the past and present of the AIDS crisis, the troubled relationship between state violence and mental illness, and the trial of a doctor accused of murdering his patients. Gleason shows how medicine is influenced, compromised, and enlivened by the cultural narratives, historical contexts, and complicated people who practice it.

In her foreword, Meghan O’Rourke, judge of the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, writes that “illness is often framed as a crisis to endure or overcome on the way back to a restored ‘intact’ self. But as Gleason’s work reminds us, illness is also a way of knowing. His essays speak to the precarious beauty of that knowing, and to the ways it connects us—to history, to culture, to one another.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 27, 2026

About the author

Jonathan Gleason is a writer, professor, and medical interpreter. His book "FIELD GUIDE TO FALLING ILL" won the inaugural Yale Nonfiction Book Prize and will be published in January 2026. Currently, he is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Chicago.

Gleason holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa. He is a recipient of a 2023 grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation and a finalist for the 2024 Granum Prize. His work is anthologized in Best American Essays (2024) and has appeared in The Sun Magazine, Literary Hub, Kenyon Review, New England Review, Colorado Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Indiana Review, and many others.

Reviews

[Jonathan Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this, and I hope you like it.

[Michael Mayday · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to like about this essay collection. Its thoughtfulness. Its exploration of history and identity. Hell, the prose is worth the price of admission alone. Most of all, it dives into an unnerving future we all share—illness, long-term and short-term, mental and more—with a splendid mix of introspection and empathy. Squint hard enough, and you'll see yourself in a few of Johnathan's essays.

For me, especially for the first few pieces, it offers hints of what goes on in the mind of someone on (or near) the front lines of our healthcare system. As I said, there's a lot to like. You'll do yourself a favor by picking it up.

[Willow Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was moved to tears on several occasions. The prose is so arresting and profound about a series of topics I normally feel distanced from. Gleason brought me right into the emotional core that surrounds our biggest fears and darkest moments. And within those settings, he unearthed a deep sense of interconnectivity and our shared humanity.

This collection was breathtaking. I devoured it. Even if Field Guide might be outside your typical reading choices, Gleason is a writer you’ll want to know. I’m so grateful that I do.

[John Bremer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nonfiction essay collection blending personal narrative and medical insight, examining illness through experiences like HIV testing, PrEP access, and hospital interpreting, while also exploring topics such as public violence, incarceration, opioids, organ donation, and the human consequences of medical systems.

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my typical genre, but I was intrigued. The essays were thoughtful and Gleason opened up about his own personal experiences, which must be difficult, like exposing a wound to salt. I found it very moving at times and nerve wracking at others. The book moves quickly and I found myself talking with others who had also read the book to find opinions and thoughts and isn’t that the beauty of a good book, to get conversations flowing? I would highly recommend this book and look forward to more of Gleasons writings.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really exceptional. So rare to get a book of essays so gripping and well-researched. Gorgeous prose.

[Anthony Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and I am super intrigued by the subject of essays, but they kind of fell flat to me. Make no mistake, the author is a very good writer, but I mostly disliked his subject matters and opinions. First of all, it was way too academic for any layperson and read like some kind of thought exercise. The author also had way too much of an ax to grind when it came to medications to fight AIDS. I almost stopped reading the whole book when I read “A Difficult Man” which teeters on conspiracy theories that reminded me too much of the Covid medication debate from a few years ago.

I’m glad I read this, but I was disappointed with the entire feeling and point of view that came from this book.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had fun reading it (and the prose is really well done!), but this guy doesn’t know the first thing about being sick. The gap between patient and medical professional remains an enormous abyss.

where did all the woke authors go?? i miss them. the book came out in 2026, you shouldn’t be afraid to say ACAB. there’s still so much ego that he can’t eviscerate himself for reifying ableism or hierarchies, only light critiques and mild guilt

[Tatiana Schlote-Bonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan is a masterful and precise writer who can turn the smallest of details into a compelling narrative and chisel down large, unwieldy concepts into digestible, riveting prose. Reading his essays, I've learned a lot and had a good time doing so. Essay lovers, come get your book!