
All in Her Head
The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today
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Narrated by:
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Anna Caputo
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By:
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Elizabeth Comen
About this listen
USA Today Bestseller
A surprising, groundbreaking, and fiercely entertaining medical history that is both a collective narrative of women’s bodies and a call to action for a new conversation around women’s health.
For as long as medicine has been a practice, women's bodies have been treated like objects to be practiced on: examined and ignored, idealized and sexualized, shamed, subjugated, mutilated, and dismissed. The history of women’s healthcare is a story in which women themselves have too often been voiceless—a narrative instead written from the perspective of men who styled themselves as authorities on the female of the species, yet uninformed by women’s own voices, thoughts, fears, pain and experiences. The result is a cultural and societal legacy that continues to shape the (mis)treatment and care of women.
While the modern age has seen significant advancements in the medical field, the notion that female bodies are flawed inversions of the male ideal lingers on—as do the pervasive societal stigmas and lingering ignorance that shape women’s health and relationships with their own bodies.
Memorial Sloan Kettering oncologist and medical historian Dr. Elizabeth Comen draws back the curtain on the collective medical history of women to reintroduce us to our whole bodies—how they work, the actual doctors and patients whose perspectives and experiences laid the foundation for today’s medical thought, and the many oversights that still remain unaddressed. With a physician’s knowledge and empathy, Dr. Comen follows the road map of the eleven organ systems to share unique and untold stories, drawing upon medical texts and journals, interviews with expert physicians, as well as her own experience treating thousands of women.
Empowering women to better understand ourselves and advocate for care that prioritizes healthy and joyful lives— for us and generations to come—All in Her Head is written with humor, wisdom, and deep scientific and cultural insight. Eye-opening, sometimes enraging, yet always captivating, this shared memoir of women’s medical history is an essential contribution to a holistic understanding and much-needed reclaiming of women’s history and bodies.
©2024 Elizabeth Comen (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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The Turnaway Study
- The Cost of Denying Women Access to Abortion
- By: Diana Greene Foster PhD
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz, full cast
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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What happens when a woman seeking an abortion is turned away? To answer this question, Diana Greene Foster assembled a team of scientists—psychologists, epidemiologists, demographers, nurses, physicians, economists, sociologists, and public health researchers—to conduct a 10-year study. They followed a thousand women from across America, some of whom received abortions, some of whom were turned away. Now, for the first time, Dr. Foster presents the results of this landmark study in one extraordinary, groundbreaking book.
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Scientific Research on Women's Reproductive Health
- By Clinton Conley on 07-09-21
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I’m Sorry for My Loss
- An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America
- By: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Rebecca Little and Colleen Long, childhood friends who grew up to be journalists, both experienced late-term loss, and together they take an incisive, deeply reported look at the issue, working to shatter taboos that have made so many pregnant people feel ashamed and alone.
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EVERY PERSON WITH A UTERUS SHOULD READ THIS!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-24-25
By: Rebecca Little, and others
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In Defense of Witches
- The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial
- By: Mona Chollet, Sophie R. Lewis - translator
- Narrated by: Carmen Maria Machado, Alix Dunmore
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed? Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted.
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A Bit Academic
- By Eric Lorenzen on 05-10-22
By: Mona Chollet, and others
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Doing Harm
- By: Maya Dusenbery
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Editor of the award-winning site Feministing.com, Maya Dusenbery brings together scientific and sociological research, interviews with experts within and outside the medical establishment, and personal stories from women across the country to provide the first comprehensive, accessible look at how sexism in medicine harms women today.
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One of the most important books ever written
- By Dresden on 03-18-18
By: Maya Dusenbery
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The Feminist Killjoy Handbook
- The Radical Potential of Getting in the Way
- By: Sara Ahmed
- Narrated by: Sara Ahmed
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you refuse to laugh at offensive jokes? Have you ever been accused of ruining dinner by pointing out your companion’s sexist comment? Are you often told to stop being so “woke”? If so, you might be a feminist killjoy—and this handbook is for you. In this book, feminist theorist Sara Ahmed shows how killing joy can be a radical world-making project. Presenting sharp analysis of literature, film, and influential feminist works, and drawing on her own experiences as a queer feminist scholar-activist of color, Ahmed reveals the invaluable lessons of the feminist killjoy.
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Killing joy for a better tomorrow
- By marceleen mosher on 03-22-24
By: Sara Ahmed
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Cultish
- The Language of Fanaticism
- By: Amanda Montell
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.
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Get this book ASAP
- By chris boutte on 06-17-21
By: Amanda Montell
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Not That Bad
- Dispatches from Rape Culture
- By: Roxane Gay
- Narrated by: Roxane Gay, Brandon Taylor, Emma Smith-Stevens, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and best-selling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are "routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied" for speaking out. Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics.
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definitely an important book
- By nikiverse on 05-25-18
By: Roxane Gay
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Limitarianism
- The Case Against Extreme Wealth
- By: Ingrid Robeyns
- Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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This will be the first authoritative trade book to unpack the concept of a cap on wealth, where to draw the line, how to collect the excess, and what to do with the money. In the process, Robeyns ignites an urgent debate about wealth, one that calls into question the very forces we live by (capitalism and neoliberalism) and invites us to a radical reimagining of our world.
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How important it is for everyone to read this book!
- By MSH on 02-27-24
By: Ingrid Robeyns
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The Furies
- Women, Vengeance, and Justice
- By: Elizabeth Flock
- Narrated by: Mia Hutchinson Shaw
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Furies, Elizabeth Flock examines how three real-life women have used violence to fight back, and how views of women who defend their lives are often distorted by their depictions in media and pop culture. These three immersive narratives follow Brittany Smith, a young woman from Stevenson, Alabama, who killed a man she said raped her but was denied the protection of the Stand-Your-Ground law; Angoori Dahariya, leader of a gang in Uttar Pradesh, India, dedicated to avenging victims of domestic abuse; and Cicek Mustafa Zibo, a fighter in a thousands-strong all-female militia...
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Shocking
- By D. Webster on 02-21-24
By: Elizabeth Flock
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Ask Me About My Uterus
- By: Abby Norman
- Narrated by: Abby Norman
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In the fall of 2010, Abby Norman's strong dancer's body dropped 40 pounds, and gray hairs began to sprout from her temples. She was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics.
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A fantastic memoir and history of female pain
- By kateRb on 03-29-18
By: Abby Norman
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Bullshit Jobs
- A Theory
- By: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs”. It went viral. After a million online views in 17 different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.
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Incredibly disappointing...
- By Jordan Burton on 12-21-18
By: David Graeber
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Medical Gaslighting
- How to Get the Care You Deserve in a System That Makes You Fight for Your Life
- By: Ilana Jacqueline
- Narrated by: Lori Prince
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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For women, the possibility of experiencing medical gaslighting—having a healthcare provider dismiss or ignore their concerns without considering appropriate testing or creating a treatment plan—has always been a very real and present danger, with consequences ranging from self-doubt and emotional stress to delayed diagnosis and death. And being a woman of color, transgender, or disabled only compounds the risk. In Medical Gaslighting, you’ll equip yourself with the tools you need to be fully heard at every step of the process.
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This should be required reading
- By Amazshop .222222 on 10-02-24
By: Ilana Jacqueline
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Abortion
- Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win
- By: Jessica Valenti
- Narrated by: Jessica Valenti
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In her most urgent book yet, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. From the attacks Americans know about to the ones anti-abortion lawmakers and groups are trying to hide, Valenti details the tactics and horrors that she’s been painstakingly tracking in her acclaimed newsletter, Abortion, Every Day.
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Sound the alarm
- By Poppy Fitch on 03-04-25
By: Jessica Valenti
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Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud
- The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman
- By: Anne Helen Petersen
- Narrated by: Anne Helen Petersen
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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You know the type: the woman who won't shut up, who's too brazen, too opinionated - too much. She's the unruly woman, and she embodies one of the most provocative and powerful forms of womanhood today. In Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Anne Helen Petersen uses the lens of "unruliness" to explore the ascension of pop culture powerhouses like Serena Williams, Hillary Clinton, Nicki Minaj, and Kim Kardashian, exploring why the public loves to love (and hate) these controversial figures.
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Excellent Book
- By Traci on 06-22-17
what I've always known.
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A must-read for everyone — all humans!
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Mandatory Read For Everyone
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Historical and hopeful
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Holy S@#$
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A Must read / listen for women & medical professionals
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All in my head
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shocking
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Impressively persuasive and intelligent
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Fascinating and eye opening
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