Customer Reviews

Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being

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This is a book that every African-American woman should add to her book collection. I have referred to this book throughout my life. It has helped inform me about many issues that black women face everyday. This book has personally helped me, and others, in so many ways!

Particularly, African-American woman have been in the dark about health issues that can cause emotional stress and issues that doctors feel we aren't smart enough to understand. On a personal note, after reading this book suggested by my mother, I found I suffered from a condition mentioned in the book that, when brought to the attention of my doctor, it was not even on her mind to check for.We all do self-diagnosis when we are ill though not necessarily the best thing, but now I can confirm what I may think with a more educated reiview of my symptoms and share in the treatment with my doctor instead of accepting the typical prescribed remedy. A "must-read" for every woman and her daughters

This book is great for Black women. It's not just a book on the health of the Black woman, but one which encourages each of us to take care of the most important person in our lives -- OURSELVES.

This book goes beyond the typical reminders about mammograms, pap smears, smoking, and HIV. Parts 4 through 6 really hit home. And the live voices of real women (Julia McMillon's story on page 567 really touched me!) made this book poignant. The photography and handy references at the end of each chapter makes this book worth every penny. As a result of reading this book, I joined the CA chapter of the Black Women's Health Project. My thanks go out to the author, Linda Villarosa! Keep up the good work.

This is a book that every African-American woman should add to her book collection. I have referred to this book throughout my life. It has helped inform me about many issues that black women face everyday. This book has personally helped me, and others, in so many ways!

So I saw this book on the coffee table of my boyfriends cousin's house and I picked it up. As I grazed through it, I realized it was absolutely awesome. I became completely disconnected from the party for a second because I became instantly immersed in the book. As soon as I flipped through and saw guides on reproductive health, spiritual health, and mental health, I was sold! I do not mean this in abstract 'tyler perry movie' terms, key words, and slogans. Or as plugs for essence magazine - I mean reproductive health in a way that breaks down what your period is, how it actually works, how it works when you give birth, how it works when you naturally regulate your period rather than using chemical birth manipulators, and it tells you the options of birth control if you choose those options, AND it gives you information on abortion if that is what you choose and it tells you about aftercare, AND it tells you about breastfeeding if you desire to give birth and feed your baby naturally AND about formula if you so choose for any reason (though you should be aware of the health benefits over formula, im sure its terrible to use a replacement for god-given breast milk - but as I will state in a second the book deals with the fact that not many black women are afforded the luxury of breast feeding due to hectic work schedules (i'm not sure how much the book put rightly states that but i connected some dots). I mean I could go on about what the book has to prove - i'm serious, I will. They even took on the Hyde Amendment, which was an amendment in 1976 that took paid abortions AWAY from women on government health insurance. This included medicaid patients, military women, and native american sisters on reservations. This was tied up with the religious right and they way they manipulate government with moral talk in order to consolidate and steal power for big corporations.....but i've digressed. For my masters thesis at the University of Chicago I worked on this topic. The amendment passed, and white feminists did not react, they did not raise alarm as much as black feminists had (this is shown from the little research i've done in this post-reaction period, my thesis deals with the formation and the passage of this bill, looking at the language of congressmen in order to see how they classify black, poor, and brown women with their language in order to pass such a restrictive, discriminatory, and harmful piece of legislation). HOWEVER, this research topic - white feminist's non-reaction - keeps coming up in the primary literature i have read. i would like to study this topic for my PhD. Anyway,..... and so literally millions of women have been denied access to the reproductive freedoms that were once guaranteed by the protection of the federal government. After the passage of the Hyde amendment, the loyalty that our country would like to claim to have to women was broken. This 'Body and Soul' book states the question I have been asking regarding another aspect of this amendment regarding where those who SAID they believed in reproductive freedom and equality: white feminists. The question was this: WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH WHITE FEMINISTS WHEN OUR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOMS WERE BEING TAKEN AWAY? (I dont think this was necessarily answered to my satisfaction as a scholar, just because I am taught to be eternally curious, not because I think the authors knowingly missed or misinterpreted anything - i simply think there is more to understand about that post-reaction moment and the moments of preparation from the activist's side through some involved oral history reports. Since that history is hardly ever exposed, it must be prodded for. And I believe we sisters are the only ones that will do it. However, all the sentences I just had to relay in order to explain the Hyde Amendment, the book didnt use, but I still knew what they meant when they raised the question....(Yet, this may be because of my research in this area).

This book also breaks down why black women find it difficult to unite in organizations in present day due to practical reasons. They show that even as we deeply believe in the struggle of our fellow sisters fighting for us, it is hard to find time, money, effort, and energy to give to such causes. I am not sure if the book touches on why this is, but I believe this is because we black women are very low on the totem pole of society as far as power and income go. There are extreme disparities (You should know that there are many number games that ppl play in order to skew the number of blacks upon welfare - another manipulation is the images of social media (as martin gilens showed). SO, I do NOT mean that the majority of poor women are black, for that is the opposite of true. poor white ppl stretch from coast to coast with lots of rural area in between, so the far outnumber poor blacks. society is just obsessed with urban cities and so that's where their attention goes..... Its not like broken-down projects in urban cities are brown peoples natural habitats (and their ACTUAL, NATURAL habitats have been destroyed by historic colonialization and current globalization, pollution, and contamination by corporate entities. Note that these current-day destoryed and exploited natural habitats are EVERYWHERE that white ppl DONT stand in majority. Because they simply dont raid, rape, clean and cleanse, each other). Rather, the harsh, substandard, dehumanizing 'urban', 'inner-city' living conditions are the effects of the oppression of corporations and the lobbying measures they use to sway, manipulate, and swindle the attitudes of the public - these intentionally substandard conditions should be treated as such - as but they never are. They are not realized as the neglect of country to adequately provide for a citizen unable to be absorbed into the low job market, or that is unable to survive by what they get, or by someone who is highly skilled and has just so happened to wind up stuck in a bad occupation, one that isnt in demand.... only to find they must go back to school and risk their life, credit, family etc..... and need some assistance anywhere in any of those several scenerios or countless others, instead of risking homelessness......... So black women our struggle is extremely hard, and for these purposes it takes more effort and energy for us to meet the daily requirements and sacrifices for survival, this makes it hard to do extra activities such as congregate when we should be working or washing or cooking or SLEEPING! (since we never do) etc...

But sisters, be aware that every one is scared because we are, and have been, closing up the educational gap - consistently. Be assured there may be a fight to curb this. probabaly in the form of birth control options. The government always finds a way to exterminate unwanted sactions that get to disruptive or powerful (and really this means they stop them from wanting equality). We have to keep our black men believing that they are the images of [insert whoever the supreme being may be that you believe, whatever it is u say that gave life or that is life] so that our brothers stuck in oppression can see themselves for, and be, the pieces of perfection that they are..... I guess that point resonates to the spiritual and mental health that this book acknowledges that we need and tells us how to get this peace and clarity, naturally, and healthily, in ways that will make ourselves, our mates, and our communities stronger.

It is in this spirit of positivity that I say the authors bring up these issues in ways that apply SPECIFICALLY to black women. They explain how, and which, of the latest sciences have not been tested on us, and therefore, could be unsafe.

What I find most interesting is that the authors speak these truths in plain english. There isn't any high and mighty language that you usually find in academic writing, and there are no gigantic dictionary terms. So the book is not dry, it is a smooth, enjoyable, inspirational, and enlightening read. But the language is NOT played down to feel childish either (though you could indeed give it to our young sisters. Most importantly, I believe we should). The book feels very conversational and It is a must must must read for black women.

....SOOOOooooooo, in this review, I reviewed the portions of the book that i've seen so far........ and I even added social commentary and history :)

I've decided i'm going to buy this book for every black woman I know on her birthday or any other occasion that warrants a gift. I can think of four people who will get this book immediately. And that's not counting the book I just bought for me and my mom. I think the authors did an amazing job and i'm hoping to get my copy immediately.