Howard Bloom

Howard Bloom (born June 25, 1943) is an American author and music publicist. Prior to developing ME/CFS in 1988, he had been the publicist for some of the biggest names in popular music in the 1970s and 1980s. These included Prince, Billy Joel, Styx, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Talking Heads, Lionel Richie, ZZ Top, Bette Midler, AC/DC, Simon & Garfunkel, John Mellencamp, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Kiss.

After getting ME/CFS in 1988, he became bedbound for five years and housebound after that. Being unable to continue working as a publicist, he began to write books on history, science and religion. His titles include The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History, The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates, How I Accidentally Started the Sixties, and The Mohammad Code: How a Desert Prophet Brought You ISIS, al Qaeda, and Boko Haram.

In 2001, Bloom fought the New York City Clerk's Office ruling that allowed them to refuse to issue him a marriage license in his home, despite being housebound. Marriage licenses can be arranged for others unable to attend its office, such as those confined to hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, but there was a union rule that prohibited City Clerk workers from going to people’s homes. One city employee suggested that Bloom take an ambulance to the clerk’s office, which he refused. He called his publicist, who, in turn, called the media. Soon, a personal visit was made by the city clerk to his house to issue a marriage license. Bloom stated that it was little comfort for him, because he wonders about the other housebound patients of CFS who don’t have the money and connections to maneuver bureaucratic rulings. “There are hundreds and thousands of people who are just like me,” Bloom said. “And they are voiceless.”

The New York Times observed that the city's regulations in regard to obtaining marriage licenses at the city clerk's office were likely to be in breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as well as city and state human rights laws. Bloom stated: "There has to be a more visionary solution, ways to redo the bureaucratic system so people could do this online or on the telephone. New York City has to get its bureaucratic systems out of the age of Nikolai Gogol."

The 2007 edition Chronic Fatigue Syndrome For Dummies, by Susan R. Lisman M.D. and Karla Dougherty, includes Howard Bloom in the chapter on "Ten Famous People With CFS."

Howard Bloom is one of the ME/CFS patients featured in the upcoming documentary, Canary in a Coal Mine, by Jennifer Brea.

Talks & interviews

 * 2013, Howard Bloom - On what happens when we extend ourselves

Online presence

 * Twitter - Howard Bloom
 * Website
 * YouTube - Howard Bloom

Learn more

 * Wikipedia - Howard Bloom