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ofhadria's review against another edition
1.0
I empathise with her but I wasn't even halfway and decided that I need to stop reading because it's just a story repeating itself over and over again
clarkf87's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
5.0
“Vagina Problems: Endometriosis, Painful Sex, and Other Taboo Topics” by Lana Parker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The time to start talking openly and honestly about Vagina Problems is long past due.”
^^^AMEN!
Lara is a HERO. She is angry and blunt in this memoir about her chronic reproductive pain, but who has time for bullshit when she’s been bullshitted for over a decade by the very doctors who were supposed to help her?
I cannot imagine living with the level of pain she has experienced her entire life. The things she has missed out on due to her chronic illness are unbelievable. You’d think she lived on another planet without any form of healthcare.
I suffer from a couple of the Vagina Problems she has, but the level this has affected her life is monumental and my heart breaks for her and all of us living in chronic pain.
I am so grateful she uses her voice to speak for the rest of us who also struggle to be heard and believed by the medical world. IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS HARD TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUES IN WOMEN’S BODIES. PERIOD—!
“On average, it takes 7 to 10 doctors’ visits for someone to be diagnosed with endometriosis. And if they are finally diagnosed they are then given just a small handful of options, most of which cost thousands of dollars or come with hefty side effects, and none of which is a cure.” 💯
“When you have vagina problems, it’s hard to think about anything else. And quite honestly, I don’t think we should have to. This book is for everyone who has ever experienced any kind of Vagina Problems. I hear you. I see you. And I believe you.” 📣
teetee3614's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
blkwwwaffle's review against another edition
Reading this memoir is equivalent to spending 5 hours on facetime listening intently to your best friend vent. This is an extremely personal memoir; so much so that at times I felt like I was invading Lara's privacy and should put the book down out of respect. That being said, I will not be rating this, but I will say that I enjoyed annotating this book.
sarahhackworththebookishlotus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
araleith's review against another edition
I get what this book is trying to do but how it is written is super not working for me.
banksa's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Medical content
thelexingtonbookie's review against another edition
4.0
Conversational, brutally honest, and delightfully clever, Lara Parker dives into all her vagina problems and the research that she's done to solve them. Parker offers up a safe space for discussion and commissary on topics such as PCOS, endometriosis, other chronic issues. For those who too suffer from pesky vagina problems, it's a must read!
allysunsun's review against another edition
4.0
A super well done book highlighting the struggle women go through when it goes to getting "womens problems" diagnosed. Many women struggle for years and years to get a proper diagnosis after being brushed off by doctors. I think it's so important to have books like this so women who are going through this can relate and know that they are not in this journey alone. Thank you to Lara Parker for putting this together and sharing her story.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
ladyofaragon's review against another edition
3.0
{2.5}
As a person living with vaginismus, I can't overstate how important I think this book is. Having conversations about these disorders is crucial. Sharing your experiences with them can be the difference between someone else choosing to give up or keep pushing.
While I applaud Lara Parker for baring her life to the entire world (well, everyone who has access to this book, anyway), I ultimately find that it reads like a rough draft. That's probably not the author's fault; my guess is that her editor fell short. The book is repetitive not just on a sentence level, but on a broader level as well; there were times when two paragraphs situated right next to one another read almost identical. Lara, with respect, I have three words for you: "Kill your darlings." As a writer myself, I know firsthand how much it can hurt to excise a sentence or passage of which you're particularly fond...but if it's not adding any new context or information, does it really need to stay?
(As another reviewer speculated, this could very well be owing to a page or word count quota from the publisher.)
I also found the overuse of metaphors and similes to be distracting. Again, having vaginismus myself, I know that explaining it to other people is a chore. This is just another thing the editor should have caught before publication.
With all that being said, I found some incredible passages in this book. It felt very good to see some of my own experiences mirrored on the page, and for that fact alone, this book has earned a place on my bookshelf.
As a person living with vaginismus, I can't overstate how important I think this book is. Having conversations about these disorders is crucial. Sharing your experiences with them can be the difference between someone else choosing to give up or keep pushing.
While I applaud Lara Parker for baring her life to the entire world (well, everyone who has access to this book, anyway), I ultimately find that it reads like a rough draft. That's probably not the author's fault; my guess is that her editor fell short. The book is repetitive not just on a sentence level, but on a broader level as well; there were times when two paragraphs situated right next to one another read almost identical. Lara, with respect, I have three words for you: "Kill your darlings." As a writer myself, I know firsthand how much it can hurt to excise a sentence or passage of which you're particularly fond...but if it's not adding any new context or information, does it really need to stay?
(As another reviewer speculated, this could very well be owing to a page or word count quota from the publisher.)
I also found the overuse of metaphors and similes to be distracting. Again, having vaginismus myself, I know that explaining it to other people is a chore. This is just another thing the editor should have caught before publication.
With all that being said, I found some incredible passages in this book. It felt very good to see some of my own experiences mirrored on the page, and for that fact alone, this book has earned a place on my bookshelf.