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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women's Pain by Abby Norman
11 reviews
alyssatuininga's review against another edition
3.5
I am not sure why she included the long story of her childhood and her mother's issues. I don't feel like it was relevant to the story, especially with the depth and detail it was told.
My biggest regret with this book is that it wasn't what I thought it was. It was marketed as a book about women's pain and the medical community. This book is an autobiography about one woman's journey through complex medical issues.
I really wish there had been more science and fewer long-drawn-out stories that didn't seem to have much to do with the topic. The ending was also very abrupt and felt unfinished.
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
sellnow_hannah's review against another edition
4.0
The downsides of this book were the timeline and the meandering nature of her writing. She seemed to jump back and forth in time in her personal story often and some of the science and history elements (while insightful) didn’t tie in as well with her personal story. Overall an enlightening read and one I’d recommend for people in healthcare.
(I don’t rate memoirs below a 4 star because I think it takes a lot of courage to be this vulnerable and share your life story. So for me 4-4.25 is good, 4.5-4.75 is great, 5.0 is fantastic.)
Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
idk_indigo's review
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexism, Excrement, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Vomit, and Abandonment
smilagros's review against another edition
4.5
I listened to this on audio and then I decided to order the book on Pango. Reading this and highlighting made the entire experience really helpful. I do think that there were a lot of interesting facts about Endometriosis that I had no idea. What is really sad is that this book has so many similarities to my story. As I am getting ready to have my 4th surgery, this was a very interesting.
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma
abbystapleton's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, and Vomit
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage
Minor: Infertility, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt
kateped's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness and Eating disorder
shewantsthediction's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma
stguac's review against another edition
4.25
As someone with a uterus, as someone with possibly endometriosis, as someone unable to get doctors to take them seriously for these issues, this was a genuinely upsetting, miserable, triggering read. The book awoke a response in me i can only really describe as mourning because i don't think my sexual/reproductive health has ever been normal and yet it's always been dismissed by everyone around me (cis women, cis men, doctors...the third gender ofc) as not being that bad. Occasionally other trans people, including transmisogyny affected people, people who don't have uteruses, have commiserated with me, and I've really appreciated this, especially because i felt like other women who do have uteruses just...seem so dismissive of anyone who complains about menstruation. Like I'm not doing it right.
I hesitate to harp on the lack of inclusivity because this is more of a memoir than i expected. Abby Norman is an advocate, yes, but she's also a victim of the medical system abusing and neglecting her. Some of these interactions in the book are mind-numbing. Like it makes me want to black out with rage sometimes thinking that doctors can speak to patients sobbing in front of them with such hatred in their eyes. But the fact remains that this is the story of a white cis woman, and she does try to point out that things are exponentially more difficult for BIPOC and transgender people looking for a diagnosis. And as helpful as the book was for me, this was not my experience. No matter what, i cannot make this fit my life.
But maybe i don't need it to. Endometriosis is such a broad experience. It isn't just something you can check off as typical of the diagnosis. Some people will have all the typical symptoms. Others will have a bunch of perplexing symptoms maybe only tangentially related to their reproductive systems. The fact that the majority afflicted are cis women, that nonwhite women and trans people barely have access to medical care let alone the attention of a self important doctor, that trans women may be afflicted yet are overwhelmingly dismissed....all of this amounts to a disease of invisibility. Of pathology. Where it's all in your head. Stop complaining. Get back to work. If you didn't live the way you did, you wouldn't be this way. And so on.
I think books like these are important. Norman has not described the entire endometriosis experience. She is privileged in many aspects, but has suffered tremendously in others. And she's used her voice to try to get more research and eyes on people who normally don't get much attention. If you suspect you have endometriosis, please check this one out.
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
4.5
- Norman doesn't shy away from describing exactly what her pain - physical and emotional - feels like. This book is a tough read but I think many will find it cathartic to be seen on the page.
- Norman is careful to point out that not only women deal with uterine pain and illness, and also that not all women have uteruses, and the extra layer of fear and frustration this can add to trying to get diagnosis and treatment. She's also up front about how being straight, white, and cisgender framed her whole situation and afforded her more privilege throughout this process than others (and the flip side of that, of how being a traditionally feminine woman led to instances of dismissal).
- It's in the content warnings listed below, but I want to point it out here as well since it's not obvious from the summary - major content warnings for child neglect, eating disorders and suicide particularly in the chapters discussing Norman's childhood.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
rosalind's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Child abuse and Grief