The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir

This book is too long. I'm not even half way done with it but I'm like 150 pages in. If she interviewed all these other people and LISTENED to them, why can't we hear more about them and less circling around her theories, which begin to sound repetitive. The best way to manage this book is to lightly skim. I find it helpful to read about her actual experience but how about making room for others' experience since you, not me, took the time to find out about them. In this way, it's self-centered, and she is a little too self important. She uses "WOMI" like it's going to go viral. Frankly I find it a little cringeworthy of a term and certainly confusing as an acronym. Also, using "ladies" in the title is outdated. People self-aware enough to be into women with mysterious illnesses don't appreciate that. Maybe it's meant subversively, but doubtfully, as she doesn't show a greater insight in her writing. I will finish reading this book because I'm engaged in her story, but I will also be relieved when I'm done. Oh, and can we talk about snagging Chelsea Clinton into this? The author is upper-class hipster feminist and just can't resist forcing her old college buddy (or wherever they became pals) to write a review of this long handbook. (EDITING to add: Upon reading more, I see that the Clinton connection is also that Bill Clinton went to her celebrity doctor who listened to her for two hours, and I seriously doubt anyone who needs to use insurance would ever have the opportunity to see this doctor or be listened to for two hours.). I would have appreciated a memoir instead of all this theory, but this review is getting long and circular too, so I guess the favor has been returned.

May this remarkable accomplishment of a book soon be required reading in medical schools across the world! I could not put it down! Deeply powerful and well-written. I knew I would learn a lot about auto-immune deficiencies and Sarah’s own cautionary journey through the medical system. I didn’t know I would also glean a new way to articulate feminism and female power that feels more right and fitting than anything I have read before. One of the many well-researched points about this book is the need for sleep. Only problem is that I didn’t sleep when reading this book -- I simply couldn’t put it down! I learned so much, and quite incredibly, laughed when least expected with Sarah's amazing puns and prose. I will (and have) recommend(ed) this book as a must-read!

I loved the beautiful dance of dark and light in this book. The painstaking account of Sarah's illness is so important to bear witness to. We all have someone in our lives who is on a similar harrowing journey. I loved how she coupled the dark reality with her contagious humor, and oh, the puns!A much-needed book that describes a growing (silent) pandemic.Well done, Sarah!

Not only could I not put this book down, but I immediately set up an online book club and invited all my female friends! The lessons in this book deserve serious study, and I can't wait to hear what others have to say. Kudos!

At first glance, you might think this is primarily a medical mystery—and it is definitely a page-turner with plenty of cliff hangers and shocks along the way that make you want to chase down the truth along with your narrator. Or you might think it's a familiar entry in the genre of an accessible guide to the emerging science of the microbiome and related medical treatments.The book is those things, but it is more profound than that. To me the heart of the book is its honest, unsparing portrayal of suffering, and the primal human struggle to fight for dignity and meaning in the midst of suffering—physical debility and pain, abandonment by those closest to you, betrayal by those you trust to care for you, loss of all the large and small things that make life meaningful and which most of us take for granted. Like other memoirs of suffering and adversity ("He Leadeth Me", about a man's decades in the gulag, comes to mind), it leaves you shaken but inspired.It is also well worth reading for its clarion call to reclaim and celebrate the feminine in society, culture, and yes, medicine. This might sound like something you've heard many times before, but it's arresting for calling out the kind of "you go, girl" feminism I was brought up with, where in an effort to encourage female leadership and ambition and achievement, traditionally feminine strengths are devalued, and the particular needs and experiences of the female body are ignored. At a time when so many people want to deny the reality of masculinity and femininity, this part of the book struck me as bracing and courageous.And finally, the author is no "armchair expert"—the technical parts of the book are incredibly rigorous and well researched, yet still understandable for a lay person. I have been fascinated by some of the ideas she discusses for a while now (about ancestral diets, gut health, the shocking lacunae in medical training on these subjects), but I still learned so much about these fields and the inner workings of the body.It is stunning that she produced this beautiful book in the face of so many challenges. It's all the more remarkable that she tells her story with such compassion, even for those who failed her, as well as mordant humor and lack of self-pity.

Knowing that Sarah was once one of Obama's writers, I expected it to be well written - but I wasn't prepared for it to hold me in its grip the way "Gone Girl" did!If you are someone who lives with chronic illness, you may THINK you know this story... but it's deeply suspenseful, and Sarah's mix of delicious prose and edgy wit will confound you at every turn.

This book is well written, easy to read, humorous (even though the subject matter is anything but) and really, really well researched. It's quite a long read, it goes VERY deep into many things but particularly the effect on womens health of both modern society and a substantially patriarchal, male orientated culture and medical system. The author is American and her experience is within America's healthcare system, but this doesn't matter at all really as the concepts and research are applicable everywhere. Read it and have your own 'ahaah!' moment! Read it even if you have a diagnosis and your illness is not mysterious, you will be surprised about the true causes of your gluten intolerance, fibromyalgia and dozens of other illnesses. I highly recommend this book.

Sarah's experience is harrowing but, while perhaps at the extreme end, this is something many (if not all?) chronically ill people will sadly recognise. That is why it is so necessary to read. I disagree with those who felt it 'too long'. This journey covers 15 years and Sarah has the right to tell her story in this detail (& the least we can do is listen!) but it also wouldn't have made complete sense if she'd just summarised or skipped things. It is a very personal experience but it works universally for the chronically ill, so her experiences represent mine, even though not everything was the same in actuality. I have ME & PoTS and so I struggle to read anything but this book was so compelling that I could think of nothing else when I wasn't reading it, & the conversational tone made it accessible for which I was grateful.Having finished it I am left with two gifts - absolute rage at how Sarah was treated (& how we have all been treated). And because of the book I have allowed myself to lean into that rage instead of shutting it down as others around me tell me to think positively instead. They are wrong. The rage will settle into the background, but I now feel ready to deal with doctors and specialists, knowing I will protect myself and trust my own feelings. What a gift!The other gift was learning about the heroine's journey which, despite having done an actual MA in creative writing, I had never heard about. I heard Sarah talking about this & that is why I got this book. It is an incredible discovery & is so exciting to think about, both in terms of stories but mainly in terms of how I see my life. Chronic illness is so very much about moments of feeling a bit better but than plummeting back down into being very ill. It is all about ascent and descent. Healthy people just don't get this & it has brought me much comfort knowing that a narrative DOES fit my life, & why people will find it uncomfortable.This will all make more sense when you've read the book! But for anyone chronically ill, who knows someone chronically ill (women and men alike), is interested in the craft of storytelling, wants to understand how misogyny impacts so badly on medicine and especially for chronic illness - please read Sarah's book! There is no quick fix for chronic illness, but this book is so helpful in terms of showing you what does NOT work, and why, and that will save you a lot of time, tears & money. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Essential reading for all those with ‘a mysterious illness,’ men and women alike. It sets out the cultural context of ‘medically unexplained symptoms’ but more importantly gives a framework for what the individual with one of these illnesses can do.Ramey tackles her horrendous medical condition with a sense of dark humour and wit, whilst allowing the reader a level of insight into the hell her life must have felt like.As someone who has been on the recovery path from ME/CFS for forty plus years, I can vouch for the importance of her final chapters. I think this is honestly the best book I have read on the subject. Thank you, Sarah.

I am really glad I randomly came across someone recommending this read. I didn't really know what it was about. I can't do justice to how well-written, thought-provoking and deep this book is. It is a painful read at times and I cried at some of the suffering the author went through. It is a must-read for healthcare professionals, particularly doctors.

Painful, funny inspiring and very informative. Would highly recommend for anyone who has had their own mysterious illness (including ME/CFS).