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Reviews
Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society by Arline T. Geronimus
hllyhng's review
5.0
Arline T. Geronimus’s book, Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, is nothing short of eye-opening.
Geronimus coined the term “weathering” to describe the process and effects of systemic oppression (i.e. racism, classism) on the body. That is to say, the attempts made by marginalized persons to reconcile, withstand, combat, and overcome oppression and injustice in this country has profoundly deep impacts on health outcomes, including chronic health conditions, predisposition to disease, higher maternal and infant mortality, shorter life expectancy, and more. This book is the result Geronimus’s 30+ years of research in public health.
To share just two of many statistics from this book: “Black mothers die during childbirth at a rate three times higher than white mothers. White kids in high-poverty Appalachian regions have a healthy life expectancy of 50 years old, while the vast majority of US youth can expect to both survive and be able-bodied at 50, with decades of healthy life expectancy ahead of them.”
What I appreciated about this book was that Geronimus was able to present data on a variety of demographics, such as: pregnant Black women (aged teen to adult), impoverished white Americans in Appalachia, Black and white neighborhoods in Detroit, newly arrived Latino immigrants vs. Latino immigrants who’ve lived in the U.S. for several decades, undocumented immigrants, college students of color navigating higher education, and so on. By providing a wide range of case studies in this book, the reader can begin understanding how systemic public health concerns are/can be. Health is more than how you take care of yourself—it is also dependent on how society treats you.
Geronimus coined the term “weathering” to describe the process and effects of systemic oppression (i.e. racism, classism) on the body. That is to say, the attempts made by marginalized persons to reconcile, withstand, combat, and overcome oppression and injustice in this country has profoundly deep impacts on health outcomes, including chronic health conditions, predisposition to disease, higher maternal and infant mortality, shorter life expectancy, and more. This book is the result Geronimus’s 30+ years of research in public health.
To share just two of many statistics from this book: “Black mothers die during childbirth at a rate three times higher than white mothers. White kids in high-poverty Appalachian regions have a healthy life expectancy of 50 years old, while the vast majority of US youth can expect to both survive and be able-bodied at 50, with decades of healthy life expectancy ahead of them.”
What I appreciated about this book was that Geronimus was able to present data on a variety of demographics, such as: pregnant Black women (aged teen to adult), impoverished white Americans in Appalachia, Black and white neighborhoods in Detroit, newly arrived Latino immigrants vs. Latino immigrants who’ve lived in the U.S. for several decades, undocumented immigrants, college students of color navigating higher education, and so on. By providing a wide range of case studies in this book, the reader can begin understanding how systemic public health concerns are/can be. Health is more than how you take care of yourself—it is also dependent on how society treats you.
kaitlynhermansen's review against another edition
4.0
A great introduction to health disparities and how aging is more difficult for those experiencing poverty and racial injustice. This book serves as a great beginning and introduction on these topics- it was very much written for the general public and shows that health disparities are not genetic and are not a cause of individual choices. Systemic injustice makes disease and aging worse. I took several courses in college on health disparities and how they affect certain populations and didn’t feel like this offered any new information to me, but I think this would serve as a great introduction for someone wanting to learn more about them.
d_nice_'s review against another edition
Just not in the mood. I’d like to pick it up again.
justinlife's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
UGH!
that's about all I can say about this one. Ugh. This is a tough read. It's kind of draining when you realize how those at the losing end of societies standards are affected by that physically. Weathering is a concept about the body ages more when faced with societal injustices. The case Geronimus focuses on most in this book is maternal death and birth rates.
It's jarring. It's uncomfortable and at times depressing. That being said, it's an important book and I feel that most people should read this. It's not too academic that you can't follow along. Seeing how being any of the following can affect health is eye opening in the best way: poor, racial minority, sexual minority, any other sort othering society places.
Having this knowledge can help us view people with empathy and look at ways to making society more equitable by adding compassion and empathy. Pick it up, prepare yourself, and take what you can to heart. When you have a stacked deck, how can you find ways of managing your body and not over aging it?
that's about all I can say about this one. Ugh. This is a tough read. It's kind of draining when you realize how those at the losing end of societies standards are affected by that physically. Weathering is a concept about the body ages more when faced with societal injustices. The case Geronimus focuses on most in this book is maternal death and birth rates.
It's jarring. It's uncomfortable and at times depressing. That being said, it's an important book and I feel that most people should read this. It's not too academic that you can't follow along. Seeing how being any of the following can affect health is eye opening in the best way: poor, racial minority, sexual minority, any other sort othering society places.
Having this knowledge can help us view people with empathy and look at ways to making society more equitable by adding compassion and empathy. Pick it up, prepare yourself, and take what you can to heart. When you have a stacked deck, how can you find ways of managing your body and not over aging it?