Unwell women : a journey through medicine and myth in a man-made world

**'Seamlessly melding scholarship with passion, Unwell Women is the definition of unputdownable' __Telegraph__** **'A richly detailed, wide-ranging and enraging history... Unwell Women is not just a compelling investigation, but an essential one' __Observer__** **'A passionate and indignant history' __The Times__** **'A searing, brilliant investigation, an intricate and urgent book on how women's health has constantly been misunderstood and miscast throughout history' Kate Williams** **'One of the most important books of our generation' Fern Riddell** **'UNWELL WOMEN is a powerful and fascinating book t****hat takes an unsparing look at how women's bodies have been misunderstood and misdiagnosed for centuries.****' Lindsey Fitzharris** 'We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body's mysteries. And as a science, we expect medicine to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people, but we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion to be free of any prejudice about who we are, our gender, or the colour of our skin. But medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has always reflected the realities of a changing world, and the meanings of being human.' In __Unwell Women__ Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women's bodies, and traces the journey from the 'wandering womb' of ancient Greece, the rise of witch trials in Medieval Europe, through the dawn of Hysteria, to modern day understandings of autoimmune diseases, the menopause and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical orthodoxy - and drawing on her own experience of un-diagnosed Lupus disease - this is a ground-breaking and timely exposé of the medical world and woman's place within it. 'Seamlessly melding scholarship with passion, Unwell Women is the definition of unputdownable' Telegraph 'A richly detailed, wide-ranging and enraging history... Unwell Women is not just a compelling investigation, but an essential one' Observer 'A passionate and indignant history' The Times 'A searing, brilliant investigation, an intricate and urgent book on how women's health has constantly been misunderstood and miscast throughout history' Kate Williams 'One of the most important books of our generation' Fern Riddell 'UNWELL WOMEN is a powerful and fascinating book t hat takes an unsparing look at how women's bodies have been misunderstood and misdiagnosed for centuries. ' Lindsey Fitzharris 'We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body's mysteries. And as a science, we expect medicine to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people, but we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion to be free of any prejudice about who we are, our gender, or the colour of our skin. But medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has always reflected the realities of a changing world, and the meanings of being human.' In Unwell Women Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women's bodies, and traces the journey from the 'wandering womb' of ancient Greece, the rise of witch trials in Medieval Europe, through the dawn of Hysteria, to modern day understandings of autoimmune diseases, the menopause and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical orthodoxy - and drawing on her own experience of un-diagnosed Lupus disease - this is a ground-breaking and timely exposé of the medical world and woman's place within it. We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body's mysteries. And as a science, we expect medicine to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people, but we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion to be free of any prejudice about who we are, our gender, or the colour of our skin. But medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has always reflected the realities of a changing world, and the meanings of being human.' In Unwell Women Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women's bodies, and traces the journey from the 'wandering womb' of ancient Greece, the rise of witch trials in Medieval Europe, through the dawn of Hysteria, to modern day understandings of autoimmune diseases, the menopause and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical orthodoxy - and drawing on her own experience of un-diagnosed Lupus disease - this is a ground-breaking and timely expose of the medical world and woman's place within it "A trailblazing conversation-starting history of women's health-from Ancient Greece to hormones and autoimmune diseases--brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrative"-- Cleghorn was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after a long period of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy. She turned to history for answers, and found an enraging legacy of suffering, mystification, and misdiagnosis. Here she traces the almost unbelievable history of how medicine has failed women by treating their bodies as alien and other, often to perilous effect. In exploring the relationship between women, illness, and medicine, she shows how being unwell has become normalized in society and culture, and that women have long been distrusted as reliable narrators of their own bodies and pain. -- adapted from jacket Introduction -- Ancient Greece -- Nineteenth Century. Wandering wombs ; Possessed and polluting ; Under her skin ; On her nerves ; Feeling pain ; Contagious pleasures ; Bleeding mad ; Rest and resistance -- Late Nineteenth Century -- 1940s. Suffrage and suppression ; Birth control ; Feminine radiance ; Lifting the curse ; Dutiful and disciplined ; Control and punish -- 1945 -- Present. Public health, private pain ; Mothers' little helpers ; Our bodies, our selves ; Autoimmune -- Conclusion: Believe us A groundbreaking new story of women's journey through medicine, exposing the historic origins of the gender pain gap.