The New Yorker magazine honored for CFIDS story

On May 5 the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) announced winners of the 2004 National Magazine Awards. The New Yorker won three, including the prize for “Essay,” recognizing excellence in essay writing on topics ranging from the personal to the political. Whatever the subject, this award honors the author's eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and unique voice. The magazine’s prize-winning essay, “A Sudden Illness,” was written by Laura Hillenbrand, acclaimed author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend and a person living with CFIDS.

The judges wrote this about Hillenbrand’s New Yorker article, "In this essay about her long, nearly unfathomable fight with chronic fatigue syndrome, Laura Hillenbrand delivers rich, suspenseful, cinematic details and imagery that transport the reader deep into the heart of her nightmare-until it seems you are experiencing her claustrophobic and horrific reality. 'A Sudden Illness' champions the importance of respecting personal experience as valid (despite an army of 'authorities' who work to discredit it) and creates an inspiring testament to the will to live and create."

ASME’s annual awards, referred to the “Ellies,” are considered the Oscars of the magazine world. They have been given annually since 1966. To Laura Hillenbrand, this honor was as personally meaningful as any she received for writing Seabiscuit.