“I started to think of Black women as having this terrible strength,” Dr Kemi Doll told me when I interviewed her last year.

Dr Doll is a gynecologic oncologist and health equity researcher, and “A Terrible Strength” is, in fact, the name of the book she’s just released, which explores the topic of womb health and Black women in more detail. It's a terrific read.

This week I'm re-airing one of the most powerful conversations from season 4: my interview with Dr. Doll, about endometrial cancer in Black women. We talk about dismissal and neglect, themes which are further developed in her book.

One line from Dr. Doll has stayed with me since we recorded this: she calls Black women "the canary in the coal mine" of women's health, and in the episode, she explains why.

What else is going on:

I saw this ad for Zurzuvae, a medication for postpartum depression, on TV this week for the first time. I haven’t figured out what I want to say about it yet - either the medication itself, which I’m still researching, or the ad's depiction of postpartum depression (which also looks like it's made with AI, maybe?). While I'm glad to see new medications in the market and this topic being addressed and talked about more openly, something about this ad made me uneasy, and I haven't put my finger on it yet. Take a look and tell me what you think. And send me your reaction - hello@overlookedpod.com, especially if you’ve got a story to share about postpartum depression.

What I’m reading:

​Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

I’ll be honest, I read a lot of women’s health books and have come to the conclusion that most of them sing the same song in a different key, with a few notable exceptions. In fairness I’ve just started reading Unwell Women, and while I’m enjoying going back to ancient Greece to learn the origin story of the ‘wandering womb’ in medicine - it's not really lighting me up so far.

You know what is?

Re-reading Maggie O’Farrells 'I Am, I Am, I Am, Seventeen Brushes with Death.'

I know Maggie O’Farrell is best known for her fiction writing (Hamnet, This Must Be The Place) but there are chapters in this little memoir about her health, on her near-misses with death, and all of it is compelling ... unputdownable. The chapter on birth trauma tied my insides in knots for a few days. (Should I try and get Maggie O'Farrell on Overlooked?)

Anyway, please read this book.

What else I’m reading:​​

​Preeclampsia rates in minority communities shed light on the roots of maternal health disparities​

​This fantastic piece about the narrative of the 'ideal birth' in the UK.

I'm drawing my summer to a close by taking my youngest off to college - wish me luck 🥹

And I'll wish you the best of health,
Golda