Zvinorwadza a very common formulation heard among patients in the Mberengwa district Zimbabwe means it is painful or it hurts. This book deals with patients in a rural area of southern Africa and poses two basic questions What does it mean to be ill in this part of the world and what do patients lifeworlds look like Patients illness experiences are described with the word pain anxiety and sometimes despair their social situations are often marked by vulnerability exposedness and insecurity which apply to both genders but particulary to women their helpseeking behaviour is characterised by pragmatism complementarity and plurality their conceptions about illnesses and aetiologies involve qualities of uncertainty flexibility and multidimensionality and finally patients treatment experiences can be depicted in three words some experienced ease others complete healing while a significant group of the multiepisodical patients experienced nondeliverance. It is concluded that the phenomena illness and healing need to be regarded holistically and that it is of crucial importance to acknowledge patients own ideas concerning these issues.