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caseyzebee's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
First half of the book was slow but ramped up as it got closer to the modern era
annadigiuseppe's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abortion
zosiagibb's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
Interesting history but at times kind of rambling and overblown. Makes some good points and is an interesting perspective to read as woman and doctor.
wordwoonders's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I... have complicated feelings about this book. For being 300 pages, it shouldn't have taken me almost all of July to read and yet here we are.
The beginnings were promising, the book started strong and I was excited to see the connecting thread of medical misogyny through the ages (as someone who is both chronically ill and in the medical field). It was a frustrating read and it fueled my rage, which pushed me to read more. But those feeling quickly waned and faded around 20% into the book. It was both dense and quite surface level. Very long winded and repetitive, in a way where the author repeatedly wrote "man doctor bad" in one form or the other. And I do not disagree with this message. I, in fact, strongly agreed with it, but the reader does not explicitely need to be told that, it is a conclusion that is very easy to draw when you read what they have done and have put women through.
Although I knew a lot of what was written this book taught me a few things and I can appreciate it for what it would do for people who are first delving into the topic. Especially since the author makes a point of talking about the disparity of treatment of well off white women in comparison to poor women, women of color, Black women and women from other marginalized communities. And it does not shy away fron describing the horrors women have been subject to.
The beginnings were promising, the book started strong and I was excited to see the connecting thread of medical misogyny through the ages (as someone who is both chronically ill and in the medical field). It was a frustrating read and it fueled my rage, which pushed me to read more. But those feeling quickly waned and faded around 20% into the book. It was both dense and quite surface level. Very long winded and repetitive, in a way where the author repeatedly wrote "man doctor bad" in one form or the other. And I do not disagree with this message. I, in fact, strongly agreed with it, but the reader does not explicitely need to be told that, it is a conclusion that is very easy to draw when you read what they have done and have put women through.
Although I knew a lot of what was written this book taught me a few things and I can appreciate it for what it would do for people who are first delving into the topic. Especially since the author makes a point of talking about the disparity of treatment of well off white women in comparison to poor women, women of color, Black women and women from other marginalized communities. And it does not shy away fron describing the horrors women have been subject to.
haleybre's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
catrinj's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
An interesting and eye opening delve into the relationship of women and healthcare throughout history. Cleghorn discusses topics and examples that have largely been left out of modern narratives of medicine, or ones that are only recently been discussed. She doesn’t reduce the women down to the specific cases in which they were involved. She explores how they might have felt or the context surrounding the case, allowing us the reader to feel connected to the women who came before us. The book is mainly Eurocentric and US focused and a focus on Asian healthcare would’ve also been appreciated. At times it felt too much like narrative, however that may be my own preference for analytical books as the narrative doesn’t take away from the writing.