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Overall a raw, inclusive, intimate exploration of how women of many backgrounds try to navigate health issues and life in a world geared towards healthy bodies.
I would recommend this to anyone, but especially to able-bodied people who are willing to become allies. It shouldn't be just chronically ill folks reading up on disability.
I found the book was hard to read at first because of my own experiences with mental health struggles and (mostly invisible) chronic illness at a young age. It was hard to hear stories that are so relatable and to face the fact that so many others go through the hard things I have, and much more. But it's important to hear these stories because it reminds you that you are not alone. It reminds you that these experiences are real, even if a flippant 1-star-on-rate-MDs doctor tells you you're not normal and it's all in your head after looking at you for 2 minutes.
I hope my able bodied friends and family will take the time to read some books on disability and chronic illness. This is a good one to start with as it covers a lot of ground and is written in language that is easy to understand.
I would recommend this to anyone, but especially to able-bodied people who are willing to become allies. It shouldn't be just chronically ill folks reading up on disability.
I found the book was hard to read at first because of my own experiences with mental health struggles and (mostly invisible) chronic illness at a young age. It was hard to hear stories that are so relatable and to face the fact that so many others go through the hard things I have, and much more. But it's important to hear these stories because it reminds you that you are not alone. It reminds you that these experiences are real, even if a flippant 1-star-on-rate-MDs doctor tells you you're not normal and it's all in your head after looking at you for 2 minutes.
I hope my able bodied friends and family will take the time to read some books on disability and chronic illness. This is a good one to start with as it covers a lot of ground and is written in language that is easy to understand.
I've been reading a lot of fiction lately, so it's about time to sprinkle in a nonfiction volume! As soon as I learned this book existed, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. I've been living with two autoimmune disease most of my adult life, and in the past three or four years their impact on my life has grown quite a lot. I struggle with fatigue, with my weight, with muscle pain, with migraines, with intestinal issues if I eat the wrong thing. Some days it's just hard to function like a normal person when my brain is full of fog and every movement hurts. So this book? This is my life.
The author of this book did a LOT of research. She's not only disabled herself, but she interviewed SO MANY PEOPLE, with all kinds of different disabilities, diseases, and experiences. Mostly patients, but she also interviewed a few doctors.
The book is divided into six chapters: "Could Someone Love This Body of Mine," "The (Foggy) Glass Ceiling and the Wall," "It's Cool Guys I'm Totally Fine," "Why Don't They Believe Me? or the Case of the Lady Lab Rat," "To Raise Small Humans - Or Not," and "Sick Like Miss America." I really enjoyed her divisions here. The first chapter is about romantic relationships, the second about work, the third about friendships. "Why Don't They Believe Me" covers women's relationships with their doctors, the next chapter is obviously about fertility and parenting, and the last chapter is about society's expectations of beauty and how to be sick.
"Could Someone Love This Body of Mine" touched on some of my personal insecurities, as one of my autoimmune diseases leaves pretty ugly scar tissue on my skin. It talks about how men tend to leave women with disabilities or chronic illness, but women don't. (The book has extensive footnotes detailing sources and studies to back up claims like this one.)
I think the only chapter in this book that I didn't really directly relate to was about raising children. I was child-free before being diagnosed, and it hasn't changed my mind. We don't want kids.
If you or someone you know has a chronic illness, I'd recommend reading this book. There's valuable information and insight here, even if all you get out of it is "I'm not alone in this!"
Now I'm off to take a nap.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
The author of this book did a LOT of research. She's not only disabled herself, but she interviewed SO MANY PEOPLE, with all kinds of different disabilities, diseases, and experiences. Mostly patients, but she also interviewed a few doctors.
The book is divided into six chapters: "Could Someone Love This Body of Mine," "The (Foggy) Glass Ceiling and the Wall," "It's Cool Guys I'm Totally Fine," "Why Don't They Believe Me? or the Case of the Lady Lab Rat," "To Raise Small Humans - Or Not," and "Sick Like Miss America." I really enjoyed her divisions here. The first chapter is about romantic relationships, the second about work, the third about friendships. "Why Don't They Believe Me" covers women's relationships with their doctors, the next chapter is obviously about fertility and parenting, and the last chapter is about society's expectations of beauty and how to be sick.
"Could Someone Love This Body of Mine" touched on some of my personal insecurities, as one of my autoimmune diseases leaves pretty ugly scar tissue on my skin. It talks about how men tend to leave women with disabilities or chronic illness, but women don't. (The book has extensive footnotes detailing sources and studies to back up claims like this one.)
I think the only chapter in this book that I didn't really directly relate to was about raising children. I was child-free before being diagnosed, and it hasn't changed my mind. We don't want kids.
If you or someone you know has a chronic illness, I'd recommend reading this book. There's valuable information and insight here, even if all you get out of it is "I'm not alone in this!"
Now I'm off to take a nap.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
[5 stars] Part memoir and part scientific review, Invisible delves into the biases, prejudice, stigma, and shame surrounding chronic illness, mental health, and disability for young cisgender and transgender women. As I read the chronicle of other people's experiences seeking care in Western medical settings, I found myself seeing the same words that doctors had repeated to me throughout the past five years as doctors have struggled to diagnose my constellations of orthopedic, neurological, rhematological, endocrinological, and psychological symptoms. It made me sad to know that others shared my experiences while also validating that I wasn't alone and also didn't have faulty intuition with regards to my health and my body. Lent Hirsch definitely did her research but I didn't find her writing dense or overly academic. She explored some of the intersections of disability and illness alongside gender, race, and geography, doing a somewhat decent job while also recognizing her own privilege in seeking care, though I would've liked to see a deeper class analysis, especially when folks lack insurance, and the inclusion of a disability justice frame alongside chronic illness. I'd recommend this book for my fellow sick and disabled folks, as well as those who work in health or healing settings to learn more about chronic illness and/or navigate implicit biases.
I loved this thoroughly researched, beautifully written, clear-eyed exploration of the huge demographic of young women dealing with chronic illness and other serious health issues. What Hirsch uncovered is in fact pretty infuriating (e.g., male doctors everywhere just NOT BELIEVING women, and researchers failing to study women because our cycles make studying us "inconvenient"), and I've found myself frequently bringing up factoids from the book in conversations with friends. Highly recommended for everyone, really, because if you aren't dealing with an invisible health issue yourself, you certainly know someone who is.
Invisible combines memoir, ethnography, and social science research to address some of the unique challenges faced by young women with serious health issues. Lent Hirsch uses her own experience with multiple illnesses to open a dialogue about how many of the ‘typical’ aspects of being a young woman, such as establishing and maintaining social relationships, navigating the workplace, and planning for a future, are often complicated or magnified by concurrent life-altering health issues.
Importantly, this is not Lent Hirsch’s story alone. While she uses her experience to spark this much-needed conversation, her interviews with a group of women with serious health issues are the heart of this book. The power of Lent Hirsch’s interviews with these women is grounded in the fact that they are diverse in every way: racially, culturally, socioeconomically, professionally, sexually, and, perhaps most importantly, diagnostically. Their stories do not represent a singular experience with illness, but instead illustrate just a portion of the many nuances that exist within every individual’s experience with serious health issues. From HIV to cancer to autoimmune diseases and beyond, the health issues represented in this book rank among the most expansive and inclusive I’ve seen, and provide the reader with insight into how different diagnoses can affect an individual.
I asked Beacon Press for a review copy of this book because, as someone who has lived with chronic illness for most of my teenage years and all of my adulthood, I have been on a seemingly endless search for nonfiction works about people like me. There are plenty of books out there about spirituality and illness, diet and illness, yoga and illness, etc. And there are many books about specific illnesses. However, I’ve come across very few books that look specifically at the experiences of my own cohort. So, when I discovered that this book would soon be out in the world, I was thrilled.
Multiple parts of Lent Hirsch’s writing hit home for me. There is a certain type of relief that comes from discovering that other people share your experiences, thoughts, and fears. This is especially true when it comes to chronic illness, which can often feel isolating.
One thing that did not resonate with me was the seriousness of the illnesses discussed in the narratives. In a way, this is probably a good thing. I am privileged to be ‘healthier’ than many of the individuals depicted in this book. However, the invisible line drawn between ‘serious’ health issues and other health issues felt almost exclusionary and kept me from fully connecting with the narratives. I therefore can’t predict how relatable this book will be for someone without health issues or whose health issues don’t align with those represented here.
Bottom line is that Invisible is a good book with a niche audience. Would I recommend it? Definitely, but with the caveat that you might find it to be more of an educational experience than a relatable one. I am so excited that this book is officially out in the world and am thrilled to know that this is just one of many upcoming books through which young people like Lent Hirsch and her interviewees will share their experiences living with health issues.
Importantly, this is not Lent Hirsch’s story alone. While she uses her experience to spark this much-needed conversation, her interviews with a group of women with serious health issues are the heart of this book. The power of Lent Hirsch’s interviews with these women is grounded in the fact that they are diverse in every way: racially, culturally, socioeconomically, professionally, sexually, and, perhaps most importantly, diagnostically. Their stories do not represent a singular experience with illness, but instead illustrate just a portion of the many nuances that exist within every individual’s experience with serious health issues. From HIV to cancer to autoimmune diseases and beyond, the health issues represented in this book rank among the most expansive and inclusive I’ve seen, and provide the reader with insight into how different diagnoses can affect an individual.
I asked Beacon Press for a review copy of this book because, as someone who has lived with chronic illness for most of my teenage years and all of my adulthood, I have been on a seemingly endless search for nonfiction works about people like me. There are plenty of books out there about spirituality and illness, diet and illness, yoga and illness, etc. And there are many books about specific illnesses. However, I’ve come across very few books that look specifically at the experiences of my own cohort. So, when I discovered that this book would soon be out in the world, I was thrilled.
Multiple parts of Lent Hirsch’s writing hit home for me. There is a certain type of relief that comes from discovering that other people share your experiences, thoughts, and fears. This is especially true when it comes to chronic illness, which can often feel isolating.
One thing that did not resonate with me was the seriousness of the illnesses discussed in the narratives. In a way, this is probably a good thing. I am privileged to be ‘healthier’ than many of the individuals depicted in this book. However, the invisible line drawn between ‘serious’ health issues and other health issues felt almost exclusionary and kept me from fully connecting with the narratives. I therefore can’t predict how relatable this book will be for someone without health issues or whose health issues don’t align with those represented here.
Bottom line is that Invisible is a good book with a niche audience. Would I recommend it? Definitely, but with the caveat that you might find it to be more of an educational experience than a relatable one. I am so excited that this book is officially out in the world and am thrilled to know that this is just one of many upcoming books through which young people like Lent Hirsch and her interviewees will share their experiences living with health issues.
I loved this so much- so many experiences were my own and others were ones I would never even think of. Anyone who knows, or is, a woman with a chronic illness should read this book.
Great but hard to read book. Usually I had to stop every couple of pages because it was hard to process and my own experiences with medical “professionals” didn’t help.