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grannyhanny's review
4.0
Interesting and engaging. I’ve have had relatively positive experiences when dealing with my own health issues, so it was eye opening and sad to read of so many individuals who have had quite the opposite.
half_book_and_co's review
4.0
"Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine" - What a mouthful of a title, but it also captures quite well what Michele Lent Hirsch tries to tackle in 230 pages. She looks at a quite specific demographic: women, who have mostly "invisible" illnesses and (for the most part) only fell ill as (young) adults. The book is divided into six parts looking into (romantic and sexual) relationships, the workplace, friendships/ social life, the medical system, parenthood, and media. Hirsch writes about her own experiences, but goes in her explorations far beyond these using a lot of interviews, other literature and studies. She attempts - very successfully - to reflect a vast array of experiences in regards to class, sexuality, race etc.
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A few stories which stuck: Hirsch interviewed a young trans woman of colour about friendship. The woman said she was afraid of not always being able to be a good friend (for example being an attentive listener), because she associates these traits (bad listener etc) with the men she witnessed growing up and feared her friends might see her as masculine. Another interviewee works in a lab studying HIV. She is the only Black woman on the job, which is already challenging enough but she also has to navigate the ways her co-workers speak about HIV+ people while being HIV+ herself. Also women, who date men and are afraid of being left because they are ill: this not an unlikely scenario. Hirsch looks into statistics (recognizing there is only data on hetero relationships), dives into the reasons and looks at queer relationships via interviews as well.
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Hirsch's writing is great and I would have read hundreds of pages more (but I am also happy this rather slim volume exists to put into the hands of everyone). One of the few things I found lacking was how Hirsch does not really go into how fatness is such a defining factor how one is treated at the doctor's. This is strange for in general she is very good at pointing out how different women are affected differently. But all in all, I could relate a lot, but also learned new things and gained new insights.
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A few stories which stuck: Hirsch interviewed a young trans woman of colour about friendship. The woman said she was afraid of not always being able to be a good friend (for example being an attentive listener), because she associates these traits (bad listener etc) with the men she witnessed growing up and feared her friends might see her as masculine. Another interviewee works in a lab studying HIV. She is the only Black woman on the job, which is already challenging enough but she also has to navigate the ways her co-workers speak about HIV+ people while being HIV+ herself. Also women, who date men and are afraid of being left because they are ill: this not an unlikely scenario. Hirsch looks into statistics (recognizing there is only data on hetero relationships), dives into the reasons and looks at queer relationships via interviews as well.
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Hirsch's writing is great and I would have read hundreds of pages more (but I am also happy this rather slim volume exists to put into the hands of everyone). One of the few things I found lacking was how Hirsch does not really go into how fatness is such a defining factor how one is treated at the doctor's. This is strange for in general she is very good at pointing out how different women are affected differently. But all in all, I could relate a lot, but also learned new things and gained new insights.
spuriousdiphthongs's review
3.0
I jumped at a chance to read this as soon as I heard about it. It was a solid read. The author highlights a lot of good points and her research is thorough. The book is incredibly inter-sectional and covers a wide range of topics that people with serious health issues face, from dating, work, friendships, healthcare, children and more. Hirsch does an excellent job of weaving her own experiences in with her interviewees and arguing her points. I highly recommend this book.
bethanymplanton's review
3.0
Invisible shows through interviews, studies, and the author's personal story that young women with series health issues have to navigate a world that is biased against them. I learned a lot from this book. It is a good conversation starter, but it cannot be the end.
leighwitz's review
5.0
This is one of the most impactful books I have read in a long time. Michele Lent Hirsch's personal anecdotes and interviews made me feel so validated, and she provided just the right amount of scary-statistic-sharing with personal narrative. It's rare to find a book that's so inclusive of queer/trans/nonbinary women and WOC that's not specifically about these groups, so I was thrilled to see a wide range of perspectives included here. Some reviews note that much of the book is about short-term disease and that chronic illness could be included more, but I read this specifically because of my chronic illness and felt represented. This is a must-read to any woman living with illness--or really, who has ever been to a doctor.
atintera's review
3.75
I had so many emotions reading this - though I wish the author explored chronic illness more. The book could have used a sensitivity reader to make sure the language is more inclusive around gender, too.
marleefayek's review
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Rough read for anyone who is ill or has a loved one with chronic illness. It's a very honest account which is raw, emotional, funny and informative. As a research lover, I wish there were more sources cited by the author. It's definitely more of a memoir than a research text, while the main focus is uncovering sexism in the diagnosis and treatment for women suffering from long term pain.
mariahhanley's review
4.0
This was very, very good. I identified with the chapters on work, friendships, and trying to figure out if a small human fits into my unpredictable life the most. As others have said, Invisible doesn’t discuss long-term chronic illnesses as much, and I wish it did- having cystic fibrosis hasn’t shifted my perspective. It’s formed it. I’ve never known life without it, and so I don’t miss or grieve something I used to know.
I read the line “Being sick involves a recognition of the worlds of pain and suffering, possibly even if death, which are normally only seen as distant possibilities or the plight of others” twice, three, four times.
As I thought about work tomorrow, I challenged my own perceptions about not doing enough and having to show up and being ashamed I can’t do enough/more/it all.
I can tell I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
I read the line “Being sick involves a recognition of the worlds of pain and suffering, possibly even if death, which are normally only seen as distant possibilities or the plight of others” twice, three, four times.
As I thought about work tomorrow, I challenged my own perceptions about not doing enough and having to show up and being ashamed I can’t do enough/more/it all.
I can tell I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.