The Empathy Exams

Leslie Jamison is the author of The Empathy Exams. She alternates between acting as the reader stand-in and serving as a character in her essays depending on who she chooses to focus on for the particular work. Jamison never clearly describes herself physically; the only explicit description she offers the reader is of her scars, or wounds. These remnants of past pains serve as jumping-off points to many of the stories she tells throughout the essay collection, further reinforcing her ultimate belief that pain is unique to the experiencer.

It is through Jamison that the reader navigates topics of pain, empathy, and trauma. One remarkable aspect of Jamison’s presence in the collection is she does not presume to have all of the information. In fact, she often navigates the collected essays as being the person to learn something. It is through her the reader navigates the choices necessary to achieve empathy: the acceptance of sentimentality and the importance of active listening and observation. When Jamison lacks knowledge, she pulls from sources outside herself, and the result is the creation of a holistic