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Reviews tagging 'Medical content'
You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah
15 reviews
clairemarie420's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
reallife_kazbrekker's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Very good book with lots of valuable information. I thought I knew a lot about the subject of abortion already as someone who is pretty vocal about being pro choice, but I still learned a couple new things!
Highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more!
Highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infertility and Transphobia
lisettemarie's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
natreadthat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I wish I had read this sooner. It feels almost dystopian after the overturn of Roe v. Wade (what doesn’t feel dystopian lately?). As you can imagine, this isn’t a fun read you chit-chat about. It is, however, a crucial book, especially in today’s political climate. Why are the decisions of pregnant people—often made together with their partner—political? Who the hell knows.
What I do know is that abortion has become a major political argument, and the loudest voices are not the people who have actually had the procedure done. One in four American women will have an abortion, for a multitude of reasons, at some point in their lives. You’re the Only One I’ve Told shares the accounts of people who have. People who were young, people who couldn’t financially support another child, people who were in abusive relationships, people whose babies wouldn’t survive or would only know a life of pain, people who so badly wanted a baby. People shouldn’t have to be vulnerable in order for the world to listen and it shouldn’t be considered brave for doing so, but these people are. It’s the least we can do to listen.
As a Texan/US woman, it’s been horrifying to have my rights stripped away. As a woman who has fortunately never had to make this decision, I learned so much from this book and what people seeking reproductive health care truly face. Stats, high costs, arbitrary waiting periods, time limits, restrictions, state-sponsored scripts not based on medical science, misinformation.
Written by Dr. Shah, a reproductive health doctor, believes that medical care should be patient-centered and evidence-based. I’m not sure how you couldn’t agree with that. As someone who’s obviously pro-choice, I believe people who live in the Land of the Free deserve the freedom to choose what happens with their body. I hope you take the time to read this book and do so with an open heart.
What I do know is that abortion has become a major political argument, and the loudest voices are not the people who have actually had the procedure done. One in four American women will have an abortion, for a multitude of reasons, at some point in their lives. You’re the Only One I’ve Told shares the accounts of people who have. People who were young, people who couldn’t financially support another child, people who were in abusive relationships, people whose babies wouldn’t survive or would only know a life of pain, people who so badly wanted a baby. People shouldn’t have to be vulnerable in order for the world to listen and it shouldn’t be considered brave for doing so, but these people are. It’s the least we can do to listen.
As a Texan/US woman, it’s been horrifying to have my rights stripped away. As a woman who has fortunately never had to make this decision, I learned so much from this book and what people seeking reproductive health care truly face. Stats, high costs, arbitrary waiting periods, time limits, restrictions, state-sponsored scripts not based on medical science, misinformation.
Written by Dr. Shah, a reproductive health doctor, believes that medical care should be patient-centered and evidence-based. I’m not sure how you couldn’t agree with that. As someone who’s obviously pro-choice, I believe people who live in the Land of the Free deserve the freedom to choose what happens with their body. I hope you take the time to read this book and do so with an open heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, and Medical content
Minor: Child abuse and Rape
kamrynkoble's review
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Women’s reproductive rights and care has always been something extremely important to me. I came to this book with the lens of a woman raised in a highly conservative, Christian environment who is pro-choice despite never needing abortion care myself. Because of my background, I do not think this book would be very effective to “sway” any conservative Christians.
It often seeks to identify abortion as something commonplace and completely devoid of shame. It included the stories of several women who had to have abortion for medical reasons, even though they wanted the pregnancy. In these situations, the grief and decision-making is difficult. But in the author, a physician’s, own narration, it comes across as “not that big of a deal.” There really isn’t any education on avoiding abortion in the first place as it’s apparent that the author sees no issue with women having as many abortions as they want, for whatever reason. I could see this almost irreverent tone as being off putting to those who are on the fence in any way, shape, or form.
The other factor is high attention to gender. This book focuses on inclusive language (pregnant person instead of pregnant woman, people with uteruses, etc), provides pronouns for every person mentioned at the beginning of their chapters, and often offers caveats that include nonbinary people and trans men. While I know these caveats are important, it can detract from this seeming like a woman’s issue, and turns the conversation to broader topics of gender and sexuality. For that reason I would also be extremely hesitant to recommend this book to a conservative Christian.
The author is obviously a physician, and I think this book could’ve benefitted from a ghost writer who could help organize the thoughts here in a more cohesive, easy-to-read way. It was often repetitive and ricocheted between people’s personal stories and then paragraphs of laws and court cases.
What was strong? I learned SO much. I feel like I have a much more comprehensive look at reproductive healthcare in the US. The most recent developments have terrified me, and I hope the author expands upon them in a second edition at some point.
I appreciated the wide breadth of the different stories offered here. It was obvious that all the interviewees had great rapport with the author.
As a decidedly pro-choice person, I found this educational, fascinating, and clarifying. With a different author tone, I could see these stories being helpful for those who’ve never been in these people’s shoes, and struggle to imagine what it would be like. I’ll gladly recommend this to my pro-choice friends, but if you’re looking for something to sway others, I don’t think this is the pick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
gabbadabbadoo's review
5.0
got 93% through and had to return
first nonfiction i (sort of) got through and i liked it! the author does a fantastic job of telling the stories about the various people abortion affects - doctors, patients, partners, and the lives they touch. these don't feel like semi-anonymous descriptions of recipients of abortions, but being introduced to real, complex people in real complex situations spread across decades. i felt connected to each experience and never like i was just listening to words. amazing storytelling while weaving in the authors own experiences, perspectives, and facts about abortion in america.
first nonfiction i (sort of) got through and i liked it! the author does a fantastic job of telling the stories about the various people abortion affects - doctors, patients, partners, and the lives they touch. these don't feel like semi-anonymous descriptions of recipients of abortions, but being introduced to real, complex people in real complex situations spread across decades. i felt connected to each experience and never like i was just listening to words. amazing storytelling while weaving in the authors own experiences, perspectives, and facts about abortion in america.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse and Medical content
blissofalife's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to understand the nuances of abortion and see how it affects everybody.
Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.
Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Even as a staunch "pro-choice" activist, this book opened my eyes to many situations and facts about reproductive health that I was not aware of. After reading You're the Only One I've Told, I went straight to my friends that are in relationships and most at risk for impromptu pregnancies and relayed information that I felt was valuable to know. For example, I did not realize that the majority of insurance companies didn't cover abortion, and that abortion was so expensive. Logically, it makes sense given the political climate around abortion, but I was so caught up in whether or not abortion would be criminalized, that I never thought about other roadblocks that could prevent proper reproductive health care.
Because of this new information, I became more aware of the privilege of simply not being in a relationship. I don't have to worry about accidental pregnancy or abortion and all the nuances that come with it. I am so thankful for not just the author for putting together this anthology of stories, but also for being candid about facts, AND for the people who consented to their stories being published. I felt like Dr. Shah's point about the visibility of stories was so poignant after reading this book.
I think my only critique was that I wish that more queer perspectives could've been included, especially a trans man's experience. There really isn't enough about what it is like to be a trans man and experience something like pregnancy, whether wanted or not. However, I loved that Dr. Shah included the perspective of a man because they are integral to the conversation about abortion, just not in the way people expect. As well, Dr. Shah attempts to honor any perspective she could not include in the book in her introduction, and I understand that it would be impossible to represent everyone in one book.
Perhaps with more awareness of this topic, and the ability to speak more freely, more experiences and voices can be lifted up and heard. I highly recommend this book and hope more like it follow.
Because of this new information, I became more aware of the privilege of simply not being in a relationship. I don't have to worry about accidental pregnancy or abortion and all the nuances that come with it. I am so thankful for not just the author for putting together this anthology of stories, but also for being candid about facts, AND for the people who consented to their stories being published. I felt like Dr. Shah's point about the visibility of stories was so poignant after reading this book.
I think my only critique was that I wish that more queer perspectives could've been included, especially a trans man's experience. There really isn't enough about what it is like to be a trans man and experience something like pregnancy, whether wanted or not. However, I loved that Dr. Shah included the perspective of a man because they are integral to the conversation about abortion, just not in the way people expect. As well, Dr. Shah attempts to honor any perspective she could not include in the book in her introduction, and I understand that it would be impossible to represent everyone in one book.
Perhaps with more awareness of this topic, and the ability to speak more freely, more experiences and voices can be lifted up and heard. I highly recommend this book and hope more like it follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Transphobia, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Car accident
shannonmmay's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy
yourbookishbff's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
You're the Only One I've Told, by Dr. Meera Shah, is an incredibly compelling collection of abortion stories. Dr. Shah is a physician who provides abortions and reproductive healthcare to patients in New York, but her compilation of stories spans experiences across (and outside of) the US. She highlights a diverse cross-section of people, effectively evidencing the thousands of intricacies in any reproductive healthcare decision. Each story is told in close collaboration with the story's owner, and each story is complemented by contextual details about the specific state/country the patient lived in (and thus, the various legal challenges they faced).
In bringing these stories together in a single collection, Dr. Shah examines the personal, relational, familial, religious, cultural, medical and legal layers in every decision, showing us just how complex pregnancy decisions can be. We hear the stories of single people, married parents with children, nonbinary and trans people, people of color, young and not-so-young people, people seeking care hundreds - and sometimes thousands - of miles from home, people who have had multiple abortions, people who have encountered planned pregnancies with complex diagnoses and people who have encountered unplanned pregnancies and so many more. No two stories are alike, making the black-and-white legal barriers they each face all the more absurd. It is particularly eye-opening to see just how inaccessible reproductive healthcare is to the people highlighted in these stories, and this was written and published BEFORE the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. Abortion access has been steadily eroding for decades, and when you see intimately in these accounts the real people that these mostly state-led restrictions have impacted, it's heart wrenching.
In bringing these stories together in a single collection, Dr. Shah examines the personal, relational, familial, religious, cultural, medical and legal layers in every decision, showing us just how complex pregnancy decisions can be. We hear the stories of single people, married parents with children, nonbinary and trans people, people of color, young and not-so-young people, people seeking care hundreds - and sometimes thousands - of miles from home, people who have had multiple abortions, people who have encountered planned pregnancies with complex diagnoses and people who have encountered unplanned pregnancies and so many more. No two stories are alike, making the black-and-white legal barriers they each face all the more absurd. It is particularly eye-opening to see just how inaccessible reproductive healthcare is to the people highlighted in these stories, and this was written and published BEFORE the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. Abortion access has been steadily eroding for decades, and when you see intimately in these accounts the real people that these mostly state-led restrictions have impacted, it's heart wrenching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Racism
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia