Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

What Doesn't Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness - Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller

31 reviews

kb_sherman's review against another edition

I like the concept, but it’s just too difficult for me to read right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Excrement, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

imstephtacular's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

kateph's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit

dramaqueentears's review against another edition

medium-paced

1.5

I really tried but I couldn’t finish this. I had a hard time with the format. It was a memoir but also self-help at times. Tessa Miller is not an expert, unfortunately, so I’m not really interested in what she has to say about my mental health or how to find a good therapist. The best parts were her speaking honestly about her UC and Crohn’s Disease but even those moments were scattered with quotes, statistics, and footnotes. Needless to say, there was no reason for an appendix. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual assault

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Part memoir, part journalism, 1000% vulnerable and a must-read, especially if you love someone with chronic illness. I cannot speak from an #OwnVoices perspective, but I hope it would also help a reader with chronic illness feel seen. I listened to this on audiobook, and it was made even more powerful by listening to Miller tell her story in her own voice.

Content warning: the author is descriptive throughout concerning the effects of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), C. diff, and Crohn's disease) and does not hold back about what it does to her body. She also shares openly about many different traumas she has faced throughout her life. (I love The StoryGraph website for more detailed content warnings, if you need them!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder

readalongwithnat's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I received a free ARC from Henry Holt Books in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. My chronic illness differs from Tessa's, but I still found this book to be incredibly relatable. I also liked how it was part memoir and part educational. I want everyone in my life to read this so they can better understand living with a chronic illness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent

r_dankovich's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Medical trauma

spaghettireads's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder

alexandrap529's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

lisabreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

 What Doesn’t Kill You by Tessa Miller is a chronic illness memoir. The author has Crohn’s Disease, like I do, but like many chronic illnesses, our symptoms and treatment paths are completely different. I did find this one leaning heavily on her experience in US healthcare and her persistent infections with C. Diff, neither of which I have personally experienced. She also goes a lot into her own personal history with abuse and the affects that had on her mental health during this experience as well, which was very personal to her.
So if you are reading this as a primer on Crohn’s, you’ll get some great information, especially if you are a US patient. But you will also get a lot of personal chapters that you would expect from a memoir.

Having Crohn’s can feel isolating as most people don’t love much “bathroom” talk so I appreciate anyone willing to share their story so I can feel a little less alone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia