wow a MUST read for everyone!! it’s time to decolonize medicine!!

a very well researched book about how colonialism currently impacts the lives of BIPOC, through the lens of various body systems, both literally and metaphorically.

big takeaways are:
- our bodies are chronically inflamed due to stress, and for many people of color this is exacerbated due to generational trauma
- chemicals + free radicals found in toxic metals multiply within the body of those who grew up near toxic rivers and bodies of land, most of those affected are poor people of color and thus they are more susceptible to a whole slew of diseases ranging from cancer to IBS
- those who have larger amounts of debt have more chronic stress, leaving the body is constant fight or flight mode + raising inflammation levels
- dermatologists are not taught how to diagnose skin conditions on Black bodies, forcing dermatologists to do unnecessary biopsies on Black folks for conditions easily diagnosed in white people such as Psoriasis

and SO MUCH MORE this is just what i remember off the top of my head!!! you go read it now!

Will be telling everyone I know (healthcare workers, parents, people who don’t want the world to kill us and don’t want to keep actively killing the world, anti-racists, nice white people who don’t think this book is for them, both folks who get and don’t get the need for collective liberation) to read this book. A perfect example of a book I listened to via audio book and will be purchasing the hard copy to reference and re-read. Phenomenal and exceedingly important.

This book uses an expansive and recurring metaphor of inflammation to illustrate how bodies, societies, and even our planet react to colonialism, capitalism, racism, poverty, and more. I appreciated the focus on the health ramifications of injustice within society, rather than making health an individual problem that requires individual solutions. The authors extensively analyze and advocate for implementing traditional Indigenous knowledge systems as a solution to some of these problems. However, I think this argument is (ironically) quite colonial, as it represents another instance of settler societies taking from Indigenous people for their own gain. I don't think their point about how Indigenous lifeways are healthier for us and our planet is wrong or bad, but it certainly could have benefitted from more nuance about how to center and benefit Indigenous people. One other thing I despised about this book is that it's deeply fatphobic, which is shameful for a text that examines so many other interconnected social justice issues. Overall I liked the main message of this book-- that global inequality, a legacy of colonialism, racial capitalism, etc. have far-reaching effects on individual and collective health-- but feel that a lot of the details could have been more carefully and critically examined.

This book is beautiful and challenging, thank you for the web of reflection and connection you wove together Rupa & Raj.

it’s nice to read something co-authored by a doctor who actually cares about and is knowledgeable on the plethora of systemic factors that contribute to sickness/well-being, the disproportionate effects on oppressed groups and the necessity to decolonize everything: our thoughts, actions, ways we connect w/view others/the world, & ways we provide care

also cool that this book was split into systems of the body, and i particularly enjoyed the digestive system chapter & the discussions abt the gut microbiome… made me think more deeply abt how in every moment from before birth to our current state that everything in our environment affects us… also the close link btwn our physical and mental health (e.g. fecal transplants to treat depression)

although i learned a few interesting things from this book, and it definitely strengthened my thoughts/perspectives on certain topics, i did feel that the points being made were quite repetitive at times, and overall the book wasn’t super revolutionary for me

but would definitely recommend to those going into medicine or any field where u care for others