I feel so deeply for Abby Norman after reading this, and for all sufferers of endometriosis, a disease I really didn't know much about before this book. Norman is the kind of narrator who you want for a friend -- insightful and patient and forgiving -- and reading her heartbreaking story, you just want to scoop her up and make her a bowl of soup and pay her medical bills for her. (When she says in her acknowledgements that she loves and forgives her parents, I was like, "You can't do that girl! I'm not ready to forgive them after reading this! You really take her side.)
I ended up skipping over many of the passages about Freud and the historical medical treatment of women (the first deep dive was enough for me), because the really interesting story in this book is the story of the present: how even today, in 2018, in an era of scientific enlightenment and comparative equality, female patients can be incredibly, punitively marginalized, in ways that literally ruin their lives. This is true for diseases beyond endometriosis, as several great recent books on other illnesses illustrate ("Sick" by Porochista Khakpour/Lyme disease and "Through the Shadowlands" by Julie Rehmeyer/chronic fatigue syndrome). They're all very different books, but together they begin to illuminate the scale of the problem. If you get sick, you better hope you have the good fortune to get a disease that doctors take seriously, and that scientists have raised serious research dollars for.
Ideas one: Sarah Lawrence college should offer Abby Norman a three-year gig as a visiting writer, and give her the opportunity to complete her degree while she's there.
Idea two: Porochista Khakpour and Abby Norman should meet and discuss the intersection of trauma and illness and co-write something about it. They come to trauma and illness quite differently, but in both their narratives, the two themes are weaved together. It's hard to read this book and not wonder, could the abuse Norman experienced as a child have led to more broken body? It's heartbreaking that after overcoming her horrendous childhood that she was visited with another, different sort of trauma.
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About the author
Abby Norman is a beautiful writer
This book fired me up. I was so excited to read it because I admire Abby’s writing and it did not disappoint. What she’s been through and continues to go through is appalling. She’s brave and brilliant and I can’t believe what a strong self-advocate she’s had to be her whole life. This book is informative, heartbreaking, funny, and has a lot of X-Files references. I can’t recommend it — to all genders — enough.
Top reviews from other countries
scar
Medical professionals, women and people who love them: read this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2018RL
An incredible portrayal of life with Endometriosis, and a ...
Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2018
