The Pain Gap
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank goodness I listened to The Pain Gap as an audiobook because the frustration while reading it was real. I couldn’t sit still while reading it, so I ended up fueling my weekly runs with indignation. No fault of the author - Anushay Hossain did a great job laying out a multitude of issues impacting women's health and explaining the context surrounding each. My frustration stemmed from the constant underlying fact that sexism kills. Examples in the book ranged from women's pain being discounted during labor to women being excluded from medical studies because our hormonal cycles make it 'too complicated' to use the results. (What? That sounds suspiciously like testing new methods of setting broken arms on unbroken limbs, because the variety of breaks is too high to see if the new method would work across them all.)
I didn't realize when I picked this up how recently it had come out - a large section of the book focuses on the impact of Covid-19, both directly (actual cases) and indirectly (spiking rates of domestic violence, women quitting their jobs because they've lost access to childcare and can't do both). It was weird reading this mid-pandemic, however. I don't know that the author’s conclusions are likely to change much over time, but it felt almost rushed to read post-pandemic takeaways while still masking up to go to the grocery store and reading news articles about new variants being discovered.
Over the course of the book Hossain discusses women's healthcare and feminism in Bangladesh, the impact of US politics on abortion access and women's healthcare globally, the intersection of racism and sexism and how that impacts Black women/ WOC, the lack of research into women-centered health issues, and attempted policy changes in the US regarding women's healthcare. Each was well researched and well written, but I would have loved to see this split out into a few different books. That would have enabled her to dive even deeper into each topic and give a stronger call to action for each. Alternately, I’ve seen recommended further reading lists at the back of other books I’ve read. If this book is going to be the introduction to just how many issues women are struggling with when trying to get good healthcare, I’d like to see a list of recommended deep-dive books for people who want to keep learning.
I paired this with a painkiller cocktail for the name alone, although the refreshingly fruity taste combined with a surprising kick was a perfect match for such an engaging but frustrating book.
Painkiller:
2 ounces Pusser’s rum
4 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 ounce cream of coconut
Nutmeg for garnish
Pineapple wedge for garnish
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with large ice cubes and shake until the cream of coconut is incorporated. (This will take longer than you think.) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish as desired. I used a lowball because that’s what I had, but the traditional look is a hurricane glass.
