A book that really challenges you to think about things you always took for granted or never bothered to examine. You don't have to be asexual to apprA book that really challenges you to think about things you always took for granted or never bothered to examine. You don't have to be asexual to appreciate the questions and perspectives that Chen brings up....more
A quick, easy, and educational read about the ramifications of being black, be it a patient or doctor, in the US medical system. Not likely to get anyA quick, easy, and educational read about the ramifications of being black, be it a patient or doctor, in the US medical system. Not likely to get any awards for best book of the year due to its simple writing style. It's not a bad book, it's just not particularly enthralling in the way that a book like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (which dealt with similar/overlapping topics) was. However, I (a public health grad student) would definitely recommend it to students of public health and medicine for the questions it raises about systemic racial and socio-economic issues and individual patient care.
Note: I received an ARC of this book at BookCon 2015, New York....more
I thoroughly enjoyed Small. Musemeche does a fabulous job introducing the reader to the world of pediatric surgery and all the complications of workinI thoroughly enjoyed Small. Musemeche does a fabulous job introducing the reader to the world of pediatric surgery and all the complications of working on a child, who contrary to popular belief, is not a miniature adult. My favorite part was reading about all the advances in biomedical engineering over the years - Musemeche is great at providing a history of medical devices - the various case studies of children, and the discussion of public health and prevention. My one quibble with this book is that sometimes it veers into territory that seems more appropriate for adult surgery or general pediatrics - which is not actually a problem, but just seemed a bit off topic. An excellent read for those who enjoy science writing and learning about an interesting specialty in medicine.
Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's EarlyReviewers Program....more
The Price of Silence is an important book that everyone needs to read. Long writes that she wrote this book with two audiences in mind: those involvedThe Price of Silence is an important book that everyone needs to read. Long writes that she wrote this book with two audiences in mind: those involved with the care of mentally ill individuals and those who have no idea of what it is like to live with such individuals. I think she succeeds in making this book an attractive read to both groups. I myself fall into the second group. I like to think of myself as an open, caring and patient individual, but as I read the book I realized that I have absolutely no conception of how open, caring and patient a person must be to deal with a mentally ill individual. I respect Long so much for caring for her son, an incredibly difficult child, and I am so happy for her that her efforts seem to have paid off in the end. But Long is a white, middle class educated woman, and if she had such a hard time caring for her child, how much more so do others? The school and prison systems in the US are broken, and the first step in fixing them is to remove the stigma from mental illness the same way the stigma around cancer was removed in the past few decades. This book does an excellent job detailing the problems in the systems and current treatment and diagnosis models, and suggests ways to correct them, along with compelling stories of mentally ill individuals and their families. Mental illness is not just a problem for those with ill family members; mental illness is a societal issue that affects everyone, whether it be personal and detrimental contact with a mentally ill individual such as Adam Lanza, or just the fact that the prison system drains our tax dollars caring for these individuals when the money could be put to far better and more efficient use keeping them out of prison in the first place. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!
Disclosure: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program....more
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