Series:

Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness

Topic:

Environmental Illness

Social Movements

Biographical Note:

Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Experiences Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Active in a local ministry. Takes a holistic approach to health, focusing on the physical and spiritual roots of illness and the interconnections of the mind, spirit, and body.

Interviewer:

Kim, Kelsey

Interviewee:

Cronrod, Andrea

Persons Present:

Cronrod and Kim

Place Conducted:

The interview was conducted by telephone.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

This interview was conducted by Kelsey Kim, graduate student interviewer, for the Center for the Study of Women; PhD student in Anthropology, UCLA. Kim’s dissertation focuses on gender and racial inequalities in the Silicon Valley high-tech industry.

Processing of Interview:

The interviewer prepared for the interview by reading Anthropology and Environment Society’s Engagement blog, as well as a pre-interview questionnaire completed by the narrator

Length:

1.25 hrs

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness is a collection of interviews with over seventy individuals living in the U.S. and Canada whose family history, occupation, art practice, or activism have brought them into direct contact with illness experience and disability related to chronic, low-dose exposure to toxicant chemicals. The procurement of this collection (from March 2019 through September 2020) was sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women under the directorship of Rachel C. Lee, with interviews conducted by six undergraduates, five graduate students, two career staff, and two faculty members at CSW.

Personal background--Interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit in development of disease--Faulty intrauterine device triggers onset of health issues in young adulthood--Toxic overload contributing to development of MCS--MCS as nervous system disorder--Impact of MCS on many areas of life--Resistance to identifying as having MCS--Ministry in Georgia and development of psychological coping mechanisms--Focus on tolerating and transcending vs alleviating illness--Shift from dealing primarily with chemical sensitivity to mobility issues--Engaging in education as activism--Distrusts conventional medicine--Emphasis on listening to one’s own body in pursuit of healing--Societal views of environmental illness in ten years