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This vital exploration of the ways society overlooks—and fails—young women with disabilities and chronic illnesses is an “essential read for . . . those wondering how to be a better support system” (Library Journal).
Michele Lent Hirsch knew she couldn’t be the only woman who has dealt with serious health issues at a young age, as well as the resulting effects on her career, her relationships, and her sense of self. What she found while researching Invisible was a surprisingly large and overlooked population—and now, with long COVID emerging, one that continues to grow.
Though young women with serious illness tend to be seen as outliers, young female patients are in fact the primary demographic for many illnesses. They are also one of the most ignored groups in our medical system—a system where young women, especially women of color and trans women, are invisible. And because of expectations about gender and age, young women with health issues must often deal with bias in their careers and personal lives.
Lent Hirsch weaves her own experiences together with stories from other women, perspectives from sociologists on structural inequality and inequity, and insights from neuroscientists on misogyny in health research. She shows how health issues and disabilities amplify what women in general already confront: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies. By shining a light on this hidden demographic, Lent Hirsch explores the challenges that all women face.
Michele Lent Hirsch knew she couldn’t be the only woman who has dealt with serious health issues at a young age, as well as the resulting effects on her career, her relationships, and her sense of self. What she found while researching Invisible was a surprisingly large and overlooked population—and now, with long COVID emerging, one that continues to grow.
Though young women with serious illness tend to be seen as outliers, young female patients are in fact the primary demographic for many illnesses. They are also one of the most ignored groups in our medical system—a system where young women, especially women of color and trans women, are invisible. And because of expectations about gender and age, young women with health issues must often deal with bias in their careers and personal lives.
Lent Hirsch weaves her own experiences together with stories from other women, perspectives from sociologists on structural inequality and inequity, and insights from neuroscientists on misogyny in health research. She shows how health issues and disabilities amplify what women in general already confront: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies. By shining a light on this hidden demographic, Lent Hirsch explores the challenges that all women face.
28 Reviews
3.5
calliee_mackk
Created about 1 month agoShare
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vibingandy 🌈
Created 3 months agoShare
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“4.25 - this was a super insightful read! it was dense which did make it hard to read at my normal pace, but it was still really eye opening. even things i thought i knew a lot about i was still learning. i wish the ending had been stronger especially after a lot of what i learned, but all in all i do not regret reading this, and its helped shape a lot of what i think about day to day.”Thought-provokingHomophobiaMisogynyRacismSexual assaultTransphobiaUnsatisfying ending
Anathema Rose 🌹
Created 4 months agoShare
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“A beautiful book. Extremely validating and extremely intersectional. I don't often find the combination of personal anecdote and journalistic-style non-fiction writing to be that compelling, but here it was done perfectly: I think that has something to do with Lent Hirsch's own active struggle to define her stances on her own health wrt disability and chronic illness. She was very honest about very many things, so that allowed the reader "in" more to create a more involved reading experience. I think everyone should read this book!”Diverse charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenEasy to readThought-provokingAbuseBigotryMisogynySexual assaultTransphobia
Megan Keane
Created 4 months agoShare
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Silvio
Created 4 months agoShare
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“This book is an important testimonial of what it’s like to be a disabled and/or chronically ill young woman in society today. The author offers many voices alongside her own to paint a picture of the ways in which many women are being failed and left behind socially, medically, and in their professional lives. My partner is chronically ill and disabled, and this book gave me so much insight into the challenges she faces, and that we face together. There is a lot of work that we need to do as a society to understand harmful ideologies and institutions so that we can begin to undo them. This book feels like a great starting point towards that end.”Reviewed in:Disabled on Fable
Thought-provokingAbuseMisogynySexual assault
About Michele Lent Hirsch
Michele Lent Hirsch is a writer and editor who specializes in science, gender, and health. Her nonfiction has appeared in or on the Atlantic, the Guardian, Smithsonian, Psychology Today, and Consumer Reports, among other outlets, and her poetry in the Bellevue Literary Review and Rattle. She has taught journalism at Manhattanville College, conducted research as a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A native New Yorker, she is also a member of Columbia University’s Neuwrite network, a selective group of writers and scientists. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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