Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

What Doesn't Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness - Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller

20 reviews

thepaperwitch's review

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

An in-depth look at what it means to have IBD and Crohn's disease. Of course, this is one perspective, but it is very eye-opening and informative. It is memoir-like in her journey through her diagnosis, flairs, and recessions, but it also shows the numerous hardships and barriers that the healthcare system in America has that makes treatment difficult--and this is from a person with a lot of privilege compared to most of the country. There are a number of adjacent issues that people with chronic illnesses have to deal with, especially relating to their mental health, and I really appreciated that she dives into these issues. The book also has appendixes that focus on navigating these issues including: reporting a doctor, finding a good therapist, mental health resources, chronic illness and anxiety, how to talk about mental health medication, chronic illness and depression, medical PTSD, and wrongful termination. 

Pick this up if you or someone you know deals with chronic illness and/or IBD or Crohn's disease specifically. I'd also recommend it to anyone looking to learn a little bit more about the chronic illness perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma

Minor: Eating disorder, Excrement, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

It's a book about specific chronic illnesses, so it is going to be discussing that in a straightforward way, but it is not vulgar.

madeofmatter's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Beatifully written retelling of life with chronic illness. An incredibly useful resource filled with helpful information, tips on how to deal with various situations and tailored humour that hit home. I cannot recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

ivi_reads_books's review

emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

 This book is part memoir, part practical guide to navigating the U.S. healthcare system and advocating for yourself. It offers valuable insights on finding community, hope, and managing your health by focusing on what you can control.

The author shares her story with honesty and courage, offering readers both guidance and hope in their own health journeys. 

I recommend it to anyone living with a lifelong illness, as well as their family members and friends 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, and Blood

atokuyama's review

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Misogyny, and Gaslighting

rockyroadbutch's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rowynoconnor's review

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Eating disorder

katrinarose's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Part memoir, part self-help, part political/sociological analysis, this was a wonderfully realistic yet hopeful book. As someone who has her same diagnosis (but has not gone through the level of severity she has) I empathized with her harrowing medical trauma. Her writing style kept me hooked. I imagine the self-help aspects to be invaluable for those with severe chronic illness and are written with such tenderness. She also rounds the book out with many statistics and research articles both to infuriate the reader about the state of healthcare in America but also act as a call to action. Since I am able to forget about my diagnosis 90% of the time, I don’t feel I am the exact target audience, however I loved it and would recommend to anyone chronically ill, anyone who has a chronically ill loved one, or anyone interested in the topic of healthcare in America.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Grief

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

4.0

Why isn’t heart wrenching an option for the mood of the book??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

wickedgrumpy's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

I find myself torn about this book.

I think the thing that frustrates me is that the intended audience switches between the chronically ill, those who are close to chronically ill people, and anyone who is curious about what it's like to live with chronical illness.  To me, that is too broad of a scope.  Since I fit into the first category, I find myself irked when the tone shifts to address the others.

That is to say, it's partly a memoir, partly a self help book, and partly reference material.  I do think that there are some parts that are beneficial and good, but there are others that are so bizarre that I struggled to finish it.  Also, reading it might be a triggering experience.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail