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Sharing with you some of my favourite books on women. Previously, I have briefly discussed long COVID and its relationship with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) here which summarises the incongruence in what is deemed as effective ME management within the medical and scientific community and the disbelief in patients’ symptoms. But what if a doctor gets ME? In the first book that I am recommending, we follow the journey of Dr Hng, an acute physician who did not believe in the ME prior to her illness. This book is a great starting point for clinicians to understand ME from the perspectives of a patient and to learn more about the science. Dr Hng and colleagues had also recently founded Doctors with ME, a global professional organisation for medical practitioners and scientists in ME research, which is also a great resource for those interested in the latest scientific discourse. The second book delves into the complex diagnosis of endometriosis and its impact on women, the little funding accorded to endometriosis research and the gender pain gap. Both books follow my article on “How Hubris and Misogyny can Affect Patient Care” here.

The last book in the list is a book is the sequel to Dr Amanda Brown’s first book “The Prison Doctor”, which focuses solely on the women in HMP Bronzefield, the largest women’s only prison in Europe. According to Dr Brown, “Female offenders are some of the most vulnerable people within our society. Women make up just five per cent of the prison population of England and Wales, and the vast majority are imprisoned for non-violent offences, and are often sentenced for a matter of just weeks at a time. Many of them are caught in a vicious cycle of domestic violence, drug abuse and homelessness.” This book is an important reminder of our privilege and how as medical doctors and healthcare professionals we must go beyond judging these women for their “poor life choices”.