22 books like The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness

By Sarah Ramey,

Here are 22 books that The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness fans have personally recommended if you like The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion

Suzannah Weiss Author Of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject

From my list on change how you think of women’s bodies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a feminist writer and sexologist. My recent book narrates my search for sexual empowerment and presents my vision for a world where no woman is objectified. I teach courses on topics including orgasms, neurodiversity, and childbirth. I also coach people on their sex and love lives, empowering them to take control over their relationships. I am now working on a new book that imparts my long and winding triumph over chronic illness and reveals that having a female body is not a curse but a blessing. 

Suzannah's book list on change how you think of women’s bodies

Suzannah Weiss Why did Suzannah love this book?

For years, women have been imprisoned by the myth that we must rely on medications with undesired side effects to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Yet the reality is simple: Men can take the responsibility not to ejaculate inside someone who has not requested they do so.

This book helped me take control of my reproductive health by asserting boundaries for how partners treat me. It's my body, after all. 

By Gabrielle Stanley Blair,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ejaculate Responsibly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Ejaculate Responsibly, Gabrielle Blair offers a provocative reframing of the abortion issue in post-Roe America. In a series of 28 brief arguments, she deftly makes the case for moving the abortion debate away from controlling and legislating women's bodies and instead directs the focus on men's lack of accountability in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Highly readable, accessible, funny, and unflinching, Blair builds her argument by walking readers through the basics of fertility (men are 50 times more fertile than woman), the unfair burden placed on women when it comes to preventing pregnancy (90% of the birth control market is for…


Book cover of Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying, and Pleasurable Birth Experience

Suzannah Weiss Author Of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject

From my list on change how you think of women’s bodies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a feminist writer and sexologist. My recent book narrates my search for sexual empowerment and presents my vision for a world where no woman is objectified. I teach courses on topics including orgasms, neurodiversity, and childbirth. I also coach people on their sex and love lives, empowering them to take control over their relationships. I am now working on a new book that imparts my long and winding triumph over chronic illness and reveals that having a female body is not a curse but a blessing. 

Suzannah's book list on change how you think of women’s bodies

Suzannah Weiss Why did Suzannah love this book?

We typically think of childbirth as a pain women must simply get through. Elizabeth Davis and Debra Pascali-Bonaro offer a wildly different perspective in this read. They show how birth can be a blissful, ecstatic experience—and why women have been robbed of this experience.

Reading this book not only made me excited about the prospect of giving birth but also helped me challenge the outdated conventional wisdom of "no pain, no gain."

By Elizabeth Davis, Debra Pascali-Bonaro,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Orgasmic Birth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on the hit documentary that inspired a vibrant online community, this innovative approach to birthing shows women how to maximize childbirth's emotional and physical rewards

With more than 4 million babies born in the United States each year, too many women experience birth as nothing more than a routine or painful event. In her much-praised film Orgasmic Birth, acclaimed filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro showed that in fact childbirth is a natural process to be enjoyed and cherished. Now she joins forces with renowned author and activist Elizabeth Davis to offer an enlightening program to help women attain the most empowering…


Book cover of This Sex Which Is Not One

Suzannah Weiss Author Of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject

From my list on change how you think of women’s bodies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a feminist writer and sexologist. My recent book narrates my search for sexual empowerment and presents my vision for a world where no woman is objectified. I teach courses on topics including orgasms, neurodiversity, and childbirth. I also coach people on their sex and love lives, empowering them to take control over their relationships. I am now working on a new book that imparts my long and winding triumph over chronic illness and reveals that having a female body is not a curse but a blessing. 

Suzannah's book list on change how you think of women’s bodies

Suzannah Weiss Why did Suzannah love this book?

Women's genitals are too often painted as passive, empty holes. When we think of them, we think of the vagina rather than the vulva or clitoris. In this book, Irigaray offers a simple reframe: Our bodies are not zero. They are two.

Analyzing the symbolism of the female body, Irigaray challenges patriarchal logic. This book helped me become sexual in a way that honored my own body rather than submitting to the erasure so endemic to our culture.

By Luce Irigaray, Catherine Porter (translator), Carolyn Burke (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Sex Which Is Not One as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The publication of these two translations is an event to be celebrated by feminists of all persuasions."
Women's Review of Books

In This Sex Which Is Not One, Luce Irigaray elaborates on some of the major themes of Speculum of the Other Woman, her landmark work on the status of woman in Western philosophical discourse and in psychoanalytic theory, In eleven acute and widely ranging essays, Irigaray reconsiders the question of female sexuality in a variety of contexts that are relevant to current discussion of feminist theory and practice.

Among the topics she treats are the implications of the thought…


Book cover of Naturally Selective: Evolution, Orgasm, and Female Choice

Suzannah Weiss Author Of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject

From my list on change how you think of women’s bodies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a feminist writer and sexologist. My recent book narrates my search for sexual empowerment and presents my vision for a world where no woman is objectified. I teach courses on topics including orgasms, neurodiversity, and childbirth. I also coach people on their sex and love lives, empowering them to take control over their relationships. I am now working on a new book that imparts my long and winding triumph over chronic illness and reveals that having a female body is not a curse but a blessing. 

Suzannah's book list on change how you think of women’s bodies

Suzannah Weiss Why did Suzannah love this book?

Female orgasms are not the mysteries society makes them out to be. This book illuminates how they work while debunking the prevalent, insidious myth that women's bodies are poorly designed.

It taught me about the evolutionary forces shaping our sexuality, the types of orgasms we can enjoy, and the frequently underestimated expansiveness of women's sexuality. 

By Robert King,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Naturally Selective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Researchers of human behaviour have identified an "orgasm gap": Men usually orgasm during intercourse, whereas women often do not. This book addresses this mystery. The two leading explanations are either that women are "psychologically broken" - Freud's theory - or badly designed - the "by-product theory." However, there is a much more compelling third explanation. Evolutionary biology, anatomy, physiology, and direct sex research suggest women have evolved under their own selection pressures and orgasm is a fitness-increasing consequence of such selective factors. This is revealed in their patterns of orgasmic response, which are neither random nor inexplicable.

Key Features

Synthesizes…


Book cover of Framing Disease: Studies in Cultural History

Carol R. Byerly Author Of Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army During World War I

From my list on how diseases shape society.

Why am I passionate about this?

Carol R. Byerly is a historian specializing in the history of military medicine. She has taught American history and the history of medicine history at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was a contract historian for the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, Office of History, and has also worked for the U.S. Congress and the American Red Cross. Byerly’s publications include Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I and Good Tuberculosis Men: The Army Medical Department’s Struggle with Tuberculosis. She is currently working on a biography of Army medical officer William C. Gorgas, (1854-1920), whose public health measures, including clearing yellow fever from Panama, enabled the United States to construct the canal across the Isthmus.

Carol's book list on how diseases shape society

Carol R. Byerly Why did Carol love this book?

One of the editors of this volume is a pioneer in the history of medicine, Charles Rosenberg, who theorizes that diseases are powerful “actors” in society. The book uses fourteen case studies to demonstrate how diseases can “frame” people in various ways, defining their lives with pain, disability, or stigma. Diseases also give rise to various institutions such as sanitariums, research laboratories and stimulate the development of medical specialties. As our scientific and social understanding of individual diseases changes over time, how a society responds to or “frames” those diseases changes as well.

By Charles E. Rosenberg, Janet Golden (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Framing Disease as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In some ways disease does not exist until we have agreed that it does, by perceiving, naming, and responding to it, "" writes Charles E. Rosenberg in his introduction to this stimulating set of essays. Disease is both a biological event and a social phenomenon. Patient, doctor, family, and social institutions-including employers, government, and insurance companies-all find ways to frame the biological event in terms that make sense to them and serve their own ends. Many diseases discussed here-endstage renal disease, rheumatic fever, parasitic infectious diseases, coronary thrombosis-came to be defined, redefined, and renamed over the course of several centuries.…


Book cover of Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners, and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Author Of Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

From my list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nineteen years ago, my 13-year-old daughter became wracked in severe pain for no discernible reason. She found walking, lying flat, or sitting up straight impossible. She had a host of other bizarre physical symptoms, too. The doctors we consulted not only didn’t help us, they decided she was faking it. We had to step outside the medical mainstream to discover she had chronic Lyme disease. After many difficult years, she got better, and I began working to change the system. As president of LymeDisease.org, a national Lyme advocacy and research organization, I write and speak on behalf of Lyme patients and their families.

Dorothy's book list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Why did Dorothy love this book?

Fred Diamond has never had Lyme disease himself, but someone he loves has suffered with it for many years. When he began educating himself about the complexities of life with this illness, he realized there were no books focused on helping partners, family, and friends understand what their loved ones were going through. So, he wrote this one. He also started a popular podcast, Love, Hope, Lyme, which expands on many of the same themes in the book. 

By Fred Diamond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love, Hope, Lyme as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you love someone with Chronic Lyme disease, buy this book now!

If you have Lyme disease and want your family, partner, and friends to understand this mysterious disease, make them buy this book!

When Fred Diamond, cofounder of the prestigious Institute for Excellence in Sales, decided to learn more about the Lyme disease that afflicted someone he loved, his life changed. He read every book on Lyme, joined Facebook groups, attended webinars and podcasts and quickly realized that he knew hardly anything about what Lyme disease survivors go through on a daily basis.

So, he wrote this book.

As…


Book cover of Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Author Of Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

From my list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nineteen years ago, my 13-year-old daughter became wracked in severe pain for no discernible reason. She found walking, lying flat, or sitting up straight impossible. She had a host of other bizarre physical symptoms, too. The doctors we consulted not only didn’t help us, they decided she was faking it. We had to step outside the medical mainstream to discover she had chronic Lyme disease. After many difficult years, she got better, and I began working to change the system. As president of LymeDisease.org, a national Lyme advocacy and research organization, I write and speak on behalf of Lyme patients and their families.

Dorothy's book list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Why did Dorothy love this book?

This is one of the first books I recommend to Lyme patients who email me for advice about getting better. It’s a sad fact that most people with chronic Lyme disease don’t have “just” Lyme disease. Their condition is complicated by toxic mold exposure, environmental chemicals, other infectious bacteria and viruses, and/or a highly sensitized nervous system.

Whether they’ve been diagnosed with Lyme disease or not, I think anyone with complex health problems that they just can’t resolve could benefit from reading this book.

By Neil Nathan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Toxic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Millions of people are suffering from chronic illnesses that, unbeknownst to them, are the result of exposure to environmental toxins and infectious agents such as mold and Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease. Millions. Because the symptoms of these illnesses are so varied and unusual, many of these individuals have sought medical care only to be dismissed, as if what they are experiencing is “in their head.” Many (if not most) have tried to tough it out and continue to function without hope of improvement. Unfortunately, their illnesses are very real.

Toxic is a book of hope for these individuals, their…


Book cover of Recovery from Lyme Disease: The Integrative Medicine Guide to Diagnosing and Treating Tick-Borne Illness

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Author Of Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

From my list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nineteen years ago, my 13-year-old daughter became wracked in severe pain for no discernible reason. She found walking, lying flat, or sitting up straight impossible. She had a host of other bizarre physical symptoms, too. The doctors we consulted not only didn’t help us, they decided she was faking it. We had to step outside the medical mainstream to discover she had chronic Lyme disease. After many difficult years, she got better, and I began working to change the system. As president of LymeDisease.org, a national Lyme advocacy and research organization, I write and speak on behalf of Lyme patients and their families.

Dorothy's book list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Why did Dorothy love this book?

Dr. Daniel Kinderlehrer was already a prominent holistic physician when he became quite sick. None of the many doctors he consulted could figure out what was ailing him or how to help him in any way.

He turned out to have persistent Lyme disease—which can be notoriously hard to diagnose—and the experience spun his life and career in a completely different direction. I like this book because he shares so much of his personal story and imparts excellent information about the immune system, healing the gut, detoxifying the body, and treating infections.

By Daniel A. Kinderlehrer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Recovery from Lyme Disease as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the foreword by world-leading Lyme expert Joseph J. Burrascano, Jr., MD:

A detailed and thoughtful road map is sorely needed. And it is in this context that I am so pleased that we have this book by Dr. Kinderlehrer. I wish I'd had a book like this back in the day to guide me! It covers just about everything-the infections, diagnostic tests, treatments, and yes, the all-important terrain. It gives the reader an in-depth, but easily understandable, guide through the many subtleties of tick-borne illnesses. I am impressed with the knowledge presented and grateful for this information, which has…


Book cover of Why Can't I Get Better?: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Author Of Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

From my list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nineteen years ago, my 13-year-old daughter became wracked in severe pain for no discernible reason. She found walking, lying flat, or sitting up straight impossible. She had a host of other bizarre physical symptoms, too. The doctors we consulted not only didn’t help us, they decided she was faking it. We had to step outside the medical mainstream to discover she had chronic Lyme disease. After many difficult years, she got better, and I began working to change the system. As president of LymeDisease.org, a national Lyme advocacy and research organization, I write and speak on behalf of Lyme patients and their families.

Dorothy's book list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Why did Dorothy love this book?

If you had 16 nails sticking in the bottom of your foot, removing only one of them wouldn't fix your problem, would it? That's the question posed by Dr. Richard Horowitz, one of the top Lyme-treating doctors in the world.

In his “16-Point Differential Diagnostic Map” for evaluating chronically ill patients, he looks at many different factors that can prevent you from getting well. Lyme is a complex illness and you might not even realize there is a connection between different things you are experiencing. His book is a good reference manual for many symptoms and physical disorders.

By Richard I. Horowitz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Why Can't I Get Better? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Dr. Richard Horowitz moved to the Hudson Valley over a decade ago to start his own medical practice, he didn't know that he would be jumping into the centre of one of the fiercest, most heated medical disputes being waged today. The ongoing debate over Lyme disease as a chronic illness has made it difficult for sufferers to find care, as doctors are in many cases unable or unwilling to diagnose it. This is how once-treatable infections can become chronic, causing disabling conditions that may never be cured. In a field where the number of cases is growing each…


Book cover of Brain Inflamed: Uncovering the Hidden Causes of Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mood Disorders in Adolescents and Teens

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Author Of Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

From my list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nineteen years ago, my 13-year-old daughter became wracked in severe pain for no discernible reason. She found walking, lying flat, or sitting up straight impossible. She had a host of other bizarre physical symptoms, too. The doctors we consulted not only didn’t help us, they decided she was faking it. We had to step outside the medical mainstream to discover she had chronic Lyme disease. After many difficult years, she got better, and I began working to change the system. As president of LymeDisease.org, a national Lyme advocacy and research organization, I write and speak on behalf of Lyme patients and their families.

Dorothy's book list on people with Lyme disease who can’t get well

Dorothy Kupcha Leland Why did Dorothy love this book?

Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders are on the rise globally. And although this book's title specifies young people, I think Dr. Bock’s message can apply to just about anyone at any age. He presents case studies of children and teens who came to him after being on a laundry list of psych meds—with no improvement and often getting worse.

Many of these kids turn out to have thyroid problems, or low Vitamin D, or celiac, or yes, Lyme disease. And after he treats them for these underlying issues, often their supposed "psych" symptoms improve. If you or any member of your family struggles with mental health issues, I particularly recommend this book.

By Kenneth Bock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Brain Inflamed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From renowned integrative family physician Dr Kenneth Bock, a groundbreaking approach to understanding and treating mental health among adolescents and teens.

Over the past decade, the number of 12- to 17-year-olds suffering from mental health disorders has more than doubled. While adolescents and teens are notorious for mood swings and rebellion, parents today are navigating new terrain as their children are increasingly at risk of struggling with a mental health issue. But the question remains: What is causing this epidemic of illness?

In Brain Inflamed, acclaimed integrative doctor Dr Kenneth Bock shares a revolutionary new view of adolescent and teen…


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