Unwell Women

Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

By: Elinor Cleghorn

Narrated by: Hanako Footman

A trailblazing, conversation-starting history of women’s health—from the earliest medical ideas about women’s illnesses to hormones and autoimmune diseases—brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrative.

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 rise of witch trials across Europe, and from the dawn of hysteria as a catchall for difficult-to-diagnose disorders to the first forays into autoimmunity and the shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation, menopause, and conditions like endometriosis.

Packed with character studies and case histories of women who have suffered, challenged, and rewritten medical orthodoxy—and the men who controlled their fate—this is a revolutionary examination of the relationship between women, illness, and medicine. With these case histories, Elinor pays homage to the women who suffered so strides could be made, and shows how being unwell has become normalized in society and culture, where women have long been distrusted as reliable narrators of their own bodies and pain. But the time for real change is long overdue: answers reside in the body, in the testimonies of unwell women—and their lives depend on medicine learning to listen.

Just.. WOW

I loved this whole book and learned so much. I, too, am an unwell woman, and not only identified with the authors struggle to get diagnosed, but am among therapists pioneering a more affirming world of chronic Illness support within the field of mental healthcare. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the field of social work, medicine, mental healthcare or any access point for women.

An important education

I came at this book as a genealogist wanting to better understand the ordeal of a particular female ancestor who received a gendered diagnosis in the 1800s. In the end, I now feel closer to all of the women in my family tree, from myself right on back the branches, because I have such a better understanding of what this part of their lives was like and how their generations contributed to what we know today. This book was so informative, well researched, and well written. It’s a talent to explain so much medical and scientific information in such an understandable and entertaining way. At times the outrageous scenarios made me furious and frustrated, but the history is so important to understand. We need to know what past and present generations of women have endured so that we recognize why we need to pay attention and keep up the fight for better health care and understanding for everyone.

Essential information for all women and healthcare professionals

As a woman and a nurse, I found this audio book extremely well done with essential information to help all women and the healthcare professionals we look to to help manage our well being.

The rage I feel

This book is haunting. It will invoke some pretty strong emotions toward our patriarchal society, so be prepared to be livid.

Eye-opening history

This an excellent historical review of the status of women in society and how they have been treated and mistreated with respect to their healthcare