Music performance and the chronically ill body: an autoethnographic approach to Body Mapping through illness narratives, Bonneau's Caprice en forme de valse and Leonard's Recitative and Abracadabra Van Der WerffLauren 2017 This thesis represents a personalised account of my research into the somatic discipline of Body Mapping in my search for a continued musical performance existence despite chronic illness through the performance of Bonneau's Caprice en forme de Valse and Leonard's Recitative and Abracadabra. To personalise and humanise the medical/biomechanical field of Body Mapping this thesis employs the use of Arthur Frank's illness narratives, chaos and quest, and the qualitative research methodology of autoethnography as defined by Carolyn Ellis. The use of these methodologies also leads to the secondary purpose of this study; communication and encouragement that even despite chronic illness life-maps can be redrawn and new destinations discovered in the search for a more liveable life.