A review by ptaradactyl
Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health by J.C. Hallman

informative sad slow-paced

This was an interesting weaving of facts and surmises, and clearly explained as such. Enslaved women vanished from the historical record, and this book fills in potential narratives based on other accounts. 

It was educational and powerful, and I was not left with a good impression is Sims. 

But dang, could it meander and drag at times, even with very good narration. At one point, we got recipe recitations. At another, civil was naval battles and Italian astronomers. More than once, I skipped ahead trying to get back to the central discussion of the “invention” of modern gynecology.