Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

Name: Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World
Price: 16.49 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Elinor Cleghorn
ISBN: 9780593182956

Elinor Cleghorn became an unwell woman ten years ago. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after a long period of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy. As Elinor learned to live with her unpredictable disease she turned to history for answers, and found an enraging legacy of suffering, mystification, and misdiagnosis.

In Unwell Women, Elinor Cleghorn traces the almost unbelievable history of how medicine has failed women by treating their bodies as alien and other, often to perilous effect. The result is an authoritative and groundbreaking exploration of the relationship between women and medical practice, from the "wandering womb" of Ancient Greece to the first forays into autoimmunity and the shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation, menopause, and conditions like endometriosis.

This fascinating sweeping narrative is packed with character studies and case histories of women who have suffered, challenged, and rewritten medical orthodoxy — and the men who controlled their fate. A trailblazing, conversation-starting history of women’s health, Unwell Women is a revolutionary examination of the relationship between women, illness, and medicine.