Conversations with Elizabeth Jameson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Jameson.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? 
Elizabeth Jameson is an artist and writer who explores what it means to live in an imperfect body as part of the universal human experience. Before her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she served as a public interest lawyer representing incarcerated children; she later represented children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities in their attempts to receive medically necessary care. 

As her disease progressed, she began using her MRIs to create art as a way of reclaiming agency of her own medical data and M S. She transformed the unsettling, clinical images into work with the intention of starting conversations about what it means to have an illness or disability. 

She now writes personal essays sharing her experiences living with illness and disability. Her stories have been published by several outlets, including The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, and MIT’s Leonardo Journal. And she is passionate about speaking to medical students to share the importance of meaningful collaborations between physicians and patients. 

In 2021, she created MS Confidential, a monthly web series that provides a safe space for raw and informal discussions about the chaos of daily life for people living with multiple sclerosis. 

Elizabeth’s purpose in all her work is to normalize the experience of chronic illness and disability with the ultimate goal of creating a broader community to reduce the isolation, shame, and self-hatred that often accompany chronic illness and reduce the plethora of barriers that prevent access to quality healthcare. 

Elizabeth is currently planning an exhibition of her work at Positive Exposure Gallery in New York City this fall. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My disease has created a wavy, rocky, and constantly changing road…I feel like I am always preparing myself for an unexpected hairpin turn! Between the progression of my disease to becoming a quadriplegic to now dealing with unexpected migraines, I am constantly having to shift my perspective and approach to the relationship I have with multiple sclerosis. 

I also think about all of the wonderful conversations I’ve had on this journey of chronic illness and disability and want to use whatever energy I have to think about what I can do to work in the public interest…after all, I started as public interest lawyer and want to continue that approach to all that I do in my life. I had an existential crisis when I could no longer practice law due to MS. I thought to myself, “What do I do now?” That question led me to art and the eventual practice of being a public-interest artist. 

When I lost the use of my hands and arms, I again was confronted with the “what do I do now” question. That is when I began writing with the assistance of a few colleagues that help guide my words to the page. The only thing that now deters me is the progression of my disease in the form of migraines. I am constantly hopeful that I will write do other creative work. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My family is what I am most proud of…no question. To get married and have a family is the most creative thing I’ve ever done! 

It’s difficult for me to articulate what sets me apart from others since my goal in life is to connect with others, to learn from them, to appreciate their individual journeys. I suppose that I really am interested in everyone: my colleague, Lisa, refers to me as the Golden Retriever puppy who wants to meet and get to know everyone in my path! 

My work is about forming connections—through my art and writing—in the hopes to reduce loneliness and ‘otherness’ when talking about chronic illness and disability. My life is a mess with MS… hopefully a blessed mess, but a mess, nonetheless. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
To lead of life in which I can create and contribute by broadening the narrative of the universal experience of chronic illnesses and disabilities. Knowing that media outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and others have been willing to share my writing with such a broad audience is incredible and hopefully will help to create a more inclusive society. So many people living with chronic illness and/or disabilities (nearly half the US population!) often feel on the fringes of society, invisible and isolated. I hope my future work can continue to be of service. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jamesonfineart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_elizabethjameson_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.jameson.52
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejamesonfineart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ejameson

Image Credits
Cheryl Bowlan: Main Photo