QUICK REVIEWS pt. VI

Hello my lovely readers! While the whole house is sick as dogs right now, I managed to sum up the little strength I had to write some quick reviews. Let's get into it.

Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deidre Cooper Owens
This book breaks new ground by exploring how and why physicians denied enslaved women their full humanity yet valued them as "medical superbodies" highly suited for medical experimentation. Cooper Owens examines how gynecologists created and disseminated medical fictions about their patients, such as their belief that black enslaved women could withstand pain better than white "ladies."

*An incredibly sad, but powerful and important read. Absolutely well done. 4 out of 5 stars

Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack
A sweeping history of one of the nation’s most important African American churches and a profound story of courage and grace amid the fight for racial justice.

*Another sad but important read. A wealth of AME knowledge and Black history in this book. I only wish it included more about the victims of the 2015 shooting and their stories. 4 out of 5 stars

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America by Beth Macy
The town of Urbana, Ohio was not a utopia when Beth Macy grew up there in the 70’s and 80’s, certainly not for her family. But Urbana had a healthy enough economy, and there were middle class kids at school whose families became her role models. People in Urbana were proud of their schools, and the library, and the history of their town, an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Fast forward to 2020 and the town is a shell of itself and Beth wants to find out why.

*Good memoir, but her point about a "fractured America" gets muddled and I ended up forgetting that this is what it was about. 3 out of 5 stars

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
In this landmark addition to the literature of totalitarianism, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il (the father of Kim Jong-un), and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

*This was an excellent deep dive into North Korea and the lives of the average North Korean. Absolutely fantastic book. 4.5 out of 5 stars