Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Unwell Women by Elinor Cleghorn

11 reviews

extraaardvark's review

challenging dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Medical content, Sexism, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Genocide, Blood, Cancer, and Forced institutionalization

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

informative sad fast-paced

4.25

Highly informative book. Quite emotional and upsetting at times but really important to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Racism

pipn_t's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Really good book, a little bit of a tough read.  Focused mainly on the field of gynaecology.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Medical content

Moderate: Cancer, Ableism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Chronic illness

missb_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Blood, Misogyny, Rape, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, and Classism

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Abortion, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Sexual content, Drug use, and Miscarriage

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Body horror, Abortion, Drug use, Cancer, Medical content, Racism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Child death, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Classism, and Addiction

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Panic attacks/disorders

burdasnest's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

 This book made me feel seen and connected to all of the women in our time and the past who suffered medically because of their sex. Cleghorn acknowledges intersectionality and inequity well, but keep in mind that this is focused on western medical history and knowledge and cisgender women. She also emphasizes the absolute importance of the myriad issues we have before us as unwell women. I feel called to advocate and act by this book, and think that it should be required in health curriculum in higher education from physiology to public health. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Abortion, Miscarriage, Blood, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Slavery

ktdakotareads's review

informative slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

marybsimp's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Terminal illness

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Unwell Women is a sweeping historical look at how women have suffered as patients at the hands of Western medicine, from ancient Greece to present. Peppered with historical case studies and the author's own heart-wrenching journey to a lupus diagnosis, the voices of women rise up through the narrative to be heard where they are so frequently suppressed.

Cleghorn's dry humor was much appreciated throughout this journey to balance the horrific nature of the trends and stories she shares. I found the ancient history amusing, with the Greek concept of "the wandering womb" especially hilarious. But the lived realities of these experiences are far from funny. Seeing medical knowledge peeled back to reveal the insidious tentacles of patriarchy creeping through everything was somehow both liberating and disheartening. Women have survived some horrible shit, sometimes with no help from doctors, and others in spite of the very medical attention meant to cure their ills.

Of the many topics covered, here are just a few that will stay with me:

 • hysteria, hormones, and the other excuses to dismiss women's pain altogether or root it in psychology
 • abortion, forced sterilization, birth control, eugenics, and all the ways women's reproduction is more valued than her own well-being and decided by the medical apparatus
 • the way medical knowledge has been accrued without female input or consent in so many cases -- I was especially horrified by accounts of research done on enslaved Black American women and the more recent trials of The Pill on Puerto Rican women without knowledge of the risks
 • the lack of knowledge, empathy, and support for women with chronic pain conditions

This is far from a complete history, but I don't think that's feasible for one book, anyway. It's largely focused on the US and UK, but I was relieved that the author addresses race, class, and gender identity as intersectional factors in women's health. I will carry these thoughts into my own experiences as a patient, and I want to learn even more about this topic and advocacy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Torture