Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation
- Downloads：3394
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-15 20:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Linda Villarosa
- ISBN：B09J3FRDXG
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Judy
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Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC: This book needs to be read by all health care providers--both in training and in practice。 As a physician， I was familiar with the author not through medical education but through adult education。 I have taken the California mandatory training in racial bias and obstetrics， for adult education and found it critically important。 As recently as 2021， JAMA tweeted: "No physician is racist， so how can there be structural raci Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC: This book needs to be read by all health care providers--both in training and in practice。 As a physician， I was familiar with the author not through medical education but through adult education。 I have taken the California mandatory training in racial bias and obstetrics， for adult education and found it critically important。 As recently as 2021， JAMA tweeted: "No physician is racist， so how can there be structural racism in healthcare？' Yet， structural racism in health care is rampant。 The author writes clearly， with careful and expensive research about the issue and ends with proposed solutions。 She addresses the disparities in healthcare， the myths that never seem to die about Black health and predispositions， and the fact that although systemic racism may be finally dying in healthcare--it's dying "ugly"。 I consider this book an essential text and reference。 It's powerful， important and deserves wide readership。 It should be required in all medical school and continuing medical eduction curriculum。 A tour de force。 。。。more
Sharon Layburn
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For thirty five years， award winning journalist Linda Villarosa has been researching and reporting on a variety of ways that racism affects the health of Black Americans。 In her latest work， she gathers many of her previous article topics together and expands on her findings， educating readers on numerous trends- past and present- where racism results in deadly， sub-par medical treatment for Black people。 Her writing is powerful and devastating， a perfect blend of well researched facts and perso For thirty five years， award winning journalist Linda Villarosa has been researching and reporting on a variety of ways that racism affects the health of Black Americans。 In her latest work， she gathers many of her previous article topics together and expands on her findings， educating readers on numerous trends- past and present- where racism results in deadly， sub-par medical treatment for Black people。 Her writing is powerful and devastating， a perfect blend of well researched facts and personal vignettes that humanize the statistics and reports。 Presenting sordid， heartbreaking stories from our society's history， through our recent past， our challenging present， and hope for the future， Villarosa has crafted a must-read work that aims to open eyes and encourage desperately needed change。 Highly recommended。This ARC was provided by Doubleday/Penguin Random House， in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kim McGee
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A shocking look at racial health disparity among the African American community as well as the documents atrocities committed in the name of science throughout this country's history。 From duped young girls being sterilized without their knowledge to men being withheld treatment for venereal disease as a control group in a study。 When African Americans get sick they are less likely to receive solid medical advice and treatment compared to their White counterparts。 When a college educated Black w A shocking look at racial health disparity among the African American community as well as the documents atrocities committed in the name of science throughout this country's history。 From duped young girls being sterilized without their knowledge to men being withheld treatment for venereal disease as a control group in a study。 When African Americans get sick they are less likely to receive solid medical advice and treatment compared to their White counterparts。 When a college educated Black woman is more likely to die or have severe complications in childbirth compared to a White woman with only an eighth grade education， something is wrong。 Hopefully enough people will read this and become angry and bring about a change。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more
AnnieM
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One of the most important books on systemic racism in medicine written this year。 Linda Villarosa interrogates the dangerous myths that exist about black bodies that was perpetuated during slavery and still live on today in our current institutions。 Black Americans have poorer health outcomes than white Americans and all too often because of systemic and institutional racism， the blame is put on individuals instead of understanding all of the systemic root causes contributing to these disparitie One of the most important books on systemic racism in medicine written this year。 Linda Villarosa interrogates the dangerous myths that exist about black bodies that was perpetuated during slavery and still live on today in our current institutions。 Black Americans have poorer health outcomes than white Americans and all too often because of systemic and institutional racism， the blame is put on individuals instead of understanding all of the systemic root causes contributing to these disparities。 Some of the research she cites includes work by Dr。 Arline Geronimus， who came up with the term "weathering" to explain the devastating impact racism has on health - with micro and macro-aggressions "death by a thousand cuts。" Besides constant trauma and stress， there are also the myths that "black bodies are different" that black people have higher pain thresholds than white people - an incredibly dangerous assumption not supported at all by scientific evidence。 There is also an important emphasis on disparities in how black women are treated in the health care system- from forced sterilization to higher risk pregnancies and higher rate of maternal death。 She also has chapters on mental health and environmental toxins。 I have read some of the research she cites here but what makes this book so incredibly important is how she pulls all of these challenges into one book so we can see the big picture about what is happening in this country and how racism has penetrated every aspect of our health care institutions。 This book is a call-to-action for all of us who work in healthcare。 。。。more
Untamed Publishing
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I cannot even express how important this book is and I feel that everyone not matter their race or ethnicity should absolutely read this work to not only understand how deeply health disparities are rooted in racism， but also how deeply it impacts our black community and overall society。 This work shines a massive spotlight on the racism that runs rampant in our healthcare system and the very real data collected showing just how impactful it is on black americans。 I guarantee that every single b I cannot even express how important this book is and I feel that everyone not matter their race or ethnicity should absolutely read this work to not only understand how deeply health disparities are rooted in racism， but also how deeply it impacts our black community and overall society。 This work shines a massive spotlight on the racism that runs rampant in our healthcare system and the very real data collected showing just how impactful it is on black americans。 I guarantee that every single black person that you know has experienced racism in a healthcare setting at some point in their lives and this book delves deeply into the roots of where it started， the many facets of it to include environmental factors， and why it continues。What I appreciated most was the message of hope。 This book highlights so many healthcare workers that are in the trenches working to bring about real change regarding health disparities among black communities as well as the healthcare workers that are willing to receive the information in a way that is uncomfortable but still open。 -S。B。 for UP Book ReviewsThank you NetGalley and Double Day for providing this book in exchange for a review。 。。。more
Jane
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This is a very important， well-researched book on how racism， biases in our health system， and discrimination in our institutions and structures lead to poorer health outcomes for Blacks。 The disparities are not due to lack of self care or poor choices or genetics; this is well documented yet resisted by policy makers and the medical field alike。 Full of stories that make the injustices come alive， carefully gathered evidence， and examples of how some individuals and programs are making a differ This is a very important， well-researched book on how racism， biases in our health system， and discrimination in our institutions and structures lead to poorer health outcomes for Blacks。 The disparities are not due to lack of self care or poor choices or genetics; this is well documented yet resisted by policy makers and the medical field alike。 Full of stories that make the injustices come alive， carefully gathered evidence， and examples of how some individuals and programs are making a difference， this book is needed。 Thanks， NetGalley， for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Stephanie
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This was such an important look into the ways society has failed and continues to fail the black community when it comes to physical and mental health （and lots of other ways too but that’s for a different time）
Aislin
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This was not an easy book to read （it will make you upset and angry）， but it's full of essential education about the impact racism has on health and healthcare for Black people in the US。 The author has done a huge amount of research over many years about a variety of areas within this topic。 A lot of the book discusses medical treatment for pregnancy， childbirth， and infant health。 Other topics include the intersection of mental health and racism， the ways that geographical area can impact heal This was not an easy book to read （it will make you upset and angry）， but it's full of essential education about the impact racism has on health and healthcare for Black people in the US。 The author has done a huge amount of research over many years about a variety of areas within this topic。 A lot of the book discusses medical treatment for pregnancy， childbirth， and infant health。 Other topics include the intersection of mental health and racism， the ways that geographical area can impact health， and the perpetuation of myths。 Each chapter is thoroughly explained， with a mix of research studies and personal stories collected from interviews with individuals。 The afterword brings up COVID and how Black people have been unfairly harmed by the pandemic。Racism is classified as a public health threat by the American Medical Association （just one of the facts I learned from this book）。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become more informed about the relationship between racism and health。As is to be expected， this book has a lot of pretty strong content warnings to be aware of when picking it up。 It discusses racism in great detail with examples。 It also has a lot of description of medical emergencies and some of the stories end in death。 There is some talk about suicide。I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley， thank you！ 。。。more
Sarah Schulman
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