More than 60 years after the drug Conter­gan was with­drawn from the market, the effects of the phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal scan­dal are still felt today by those affected and their fami­lies. But how have people with thalidomide-related disabil­i­ties shaped their lives? What diffi­cul­ties did they have to over­come, what paths did they take, and what gave them strength?

Dr. Christina Ding-Greiner explores these ques­tions in her book “Leben mit Conter­gan – Geschädigte, Ange­hörige und Freunde berichten über die Auswirkun­gen des Arzneimit­tels” (“Living with Conter­gan – Those Affected, Rela­tives, and Friends Report on the Effects of the Drug”). In it, she brings together biograph­i­cal accounts describ­ing the phys­i­cal, psycho­log­i­cal, and family-related conse­quences of the drug.

These life stories reveal just how differ­ent the expe­ri­ences and paths of those affected can be. They touch on the desire for social recog­ni­tion, profes­sional oppor­tu­ni­ties, part­ner­ship and family, but also personal disap­point­ments, unful­filled wishes, and ways of coping with last­ing burdens.

Not every­one has managed to achieve their life goals. Yet the accounts show just how much personal commit­ment, courage, and strength those affected have brought to their jour­neys. The book offers insight into indi­vid­ual coping strate­gies while also show­ing how strongly social condi­tions shape life with a disability.

Christina Ding-Greiner is a physi­cian and grad­u­ate geron­tol­o­gist. During her many years at the Insti­tute of Geron­tol­ogy at Heidel­berg Univer­sity, her work focused, among other things, on aging among people with disabil­i­ties. Since 2010, she has dedi­cated herself inten­sively to the effects and long-term conse­quences of Contergan.