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amjammi's review against another edition
4.0
Thought-provoking, but felt endlessly long and repetitive. However, in part, the repetition reinforces the horror of the situation so much data has been overlooked for so long.
mmartt's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
b_ren8's review against another edition
Dense, lots of information, hard to get through. Should pick up again though
madelinerichards's review against another edition
3.0
this took me so long to get through. I tried the audiobook three times before downloading it on my kindle because it was pretty tough to get through listening to it. I eventually ended up going back to the audiobook once I could understand the information being presented slightly better. I think overall this was a good book with lots of good information within it. however, I think almost everything in the book was repeated at least five times in different ways. I don't think this was necessary at all. I understand the importance of the topic, but reiterating the same information in multiple different ways was a little annoying if I'm going to be honest.
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this fabulous book made me so angry that I found myself talking back to the book often (specifically, talking back to the doctor who dismissed a female patient in story after story). One line near the end of the book made me particularly furious and really made me think: "Indeed, the loss of knowledge that has resulted from medicine's distrust of women's accounts is staggering to think about." How different would things be if women had always been believed?
I see that others have complained that the book is repetitive. Yes, the book is repetitive. But that's really the point. Women with a wide variety of conditions face shockingly awful and similar experiences trying to find relief from their suffering. Over and over and over, they have to fight to be believed. The medical profession gets to define what "sick" is and who deserves to be treated, and again and again women are deemed undeserving.
I wish every doctor and researcher would read this book.
I see that others have complained that the book is repetitive. Yes, the book is repetitive. But that's really the point. Women with a wide variety of conditions face shockingly awful and similar experiences trying to find relief from their suffering. Over and over and over, they have to fight to be believed. The medical profession gets to define what "sick" is and who deserves to be treated, and again and again women are deemed undeserving.
I wish every doctor and researcher would read this book.
jmrprice's review against another edition
4.0
This work put into clear text some of my concerns and sadly, my own experience with ‘man medicine’.
This should be required reading for EVERY medical professional - the biases and poor decisions affect not just women, but every human on earth.
This should be required reading for EVERY medical professional - the biases and poor decisions affect not just women, but every human on earth.
herbodyslikeamodernart's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexism, and Medical trauma
angelais's review against another edition
4.0
Infuriating, thorough, and at times dense and repetitive, Doing Harm is an account of women's marginalization in medicine. As I read, I often found myself nodding along in recognition or shaking my head in disgust. From basic biological research, to diagnostic test development, to correct diagnosis, to the treatment of pain, sexism pervades all aspects of medicine. Ladies and non-binary people, read this book and keep it in mind the next time you visit the doctor's office. If the diagnosis feels rushed or wrong, you can push back or insist on a second opinion! Better yet, medical professionals, read this book to identify any gender biases you may have and to understand the many experiences of dismissal, disrespect, and inappropriate medical treatment most female patients bring to your office.
I wish Dusenberry covered mental illness as more than just a catchall explanation for women's puzzling or underexplored symptoms, but this book is otherwise a worthwhile and intriguing read.
I wish Dusenberry covered mental illness as more than just a catchall explanation for women's puzzling or underexplored symptoms, but this book is otherwise a worthwhile and intriguing read.
amandamz's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
There's a lot I liked about this book, but the main thing I thought the whole time reading it was that it could have been an article.
I liked how informative it was and how the author advocates for change within the medical profession. However, personally, I felt like it was extremely repetitive in its conclusions for not only each chapter but also every section of each chapter. I didn't need to learn about a dozen (plus) different diseases individually and all the ways the system fails women at each turn when they're trying to get diagnosed. I understood by the end of the introduction how much more fucked our system is than I realized; I could have used less of specific diseases that are overlooked and more of, maybe, how other places around the world are addressing the problem (or if it even is one). I would have loved this book as a hugely paired down long-form article instead of a 400-page book, but that's just me.
Also, this is super nit-picky, but it really frustrated me that while talking about Susannah Cahalan and her story, Dusenbery never ONCE referred to Dr. Najjar by his name. She referred to him at least twice as "Dr. House" since he was sometimes called that by his colleagues, but never by his name. Give the incredible doctor his credit, damnit!!
Oh, and Cahalan was brought up while talking about a super rare illness that is often linked to a teratoma and if you'd only read this book, you'd infer that Cahalan had one, too, but she DIDN'T! Dusenbery talked a lot about how not all illnesses have the same symptoms or even causes, but then didn't say this huge piece of Cahalan's medical story. These things probably only bothered me because Brain on Fire is one of my favorite books, and the story is incredible, but it was odd to me.
I liked how informative it was and how the author advocates for change within the medical profession. However, personally, I felt like it was extremely repetitive in its conclusions for not only each chapter but also every section of each chapter. I didn't need to learn about a dozen (plus) different diseases individually and all the ways the system fails women at each turn when they're trying to get diagnosed. I understood by the end of the introduction how much more fucked our system is than I realized; I could have used less of specific diseases that are overlooked and more of, maybe, how other places around the world are addressing the problem (or if it even is one). I would have loved this book as a hugely paired down long-form article instead of a 400-page book, but that's just me.
Also, this is super nit-picky, but it really frustrated me that while talking about Susannah Cahalan and her story, Dusenbery never ONCE referred to Dr. Najjar by his name. She referred to him at least twice as "Dr. House" since he was sometimes called that by his colleagues, but never by his name. Give the incredible doctor his credit, damnit!!
Oh, and Cahalan was brought up while talking about a super rare illness that is often linked to a teratoma and if you'd only read this book, you'd infer that Cahalan had one, too, but she DIDN'T! Dusenbery talked a lot about how not all illnesses have the same symptoms or even causes, but then didn't say this huge piece of Cahalan's medical story. These things probably only bothered me because Brain on Fire is one of my favorite books, and the story is incredible, but it was odd to me.