Customer Reviews

The Castrated Woman: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Hysterectomy

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I had a Hysterectomy when I was 24 years old. Life for my entire family became a living nightmare. No one told me what to expect. I was suffering from post-hysterectomy syndrome for seven years and didn't know it. When my therapist handed me this book I was immediately intrigued. I too had considered myself "castrated". After reading the first five pages, my life was forever changed. It was as if everything suddenly made sense. I don't know if Mrs. Stokes is still with us, but I would like to tell her Thank You. You are an amazing genius. Thank You Thank You Thank You. Any woman who is having second thoughts, or Uterine/Ovarian problems, with the scare of Hysterectomy hanging over their head MUST read this book. You will be able to make an informed decision.

The helpful point in this book is that it discusses the consequences of female castration. I would disagree with the Journal review above that says the book is emotional and unbalanced. What I suspect he is looking for is the unemotional and balanced discussions that is otherwise available and says we should end reproductive function, disturb normal pelvic integrity, alter hormonal and neuroendocrine functions, and enslave women to a liftime of drug therapy at the slightest sign of non life-threatening conditions. While the author does highlight the risk to sexual normalcy in the book, you will pick up the other risks when reading the stories of the women she interviews. This book was written in 1986 and eventhough we are in 2007, nothing has changed. I think this book attempts to explain that much is at risk when one agrees or is conned into the surgical procedure hysterectomy. A woman risks her life, her family, her relationship, her career, her education, and her dreams. Women individually or collectively need to come up with a strategy for dealing with our reproductive health from menstruation to post-menopause, the medical community have shown in their unemotional and balanced articles and studies - that women's best interest is not on their list of concerns.

I will agree up front that this book is a bit over the top. On the other hand, it helped save my sanity after my hysterectomy. There are so many things you doctor doesn't tell you, and it was so helpful to know that I wasn't alone in all I was experiencing. Even though I only had a partial hysterectomy, it was life-changing in ways that I never expected. Women need to tell each other what it's really like to have this surgery. I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it can truly understand, least of all male OB/GYNs.