Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Our Bodies, Their Battlefields: War Through the Lives of Women by Christina Lamb

7 reviews

beckyp91's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

3.75

The stories in this book are enormously important and I'm in awe of the strength of the survivors telling their stories, and of the tenacity of the author in listening and recounting their experiences. For that reason this book is enormously important and well worth reading. However I felt that it was let down by the structure of the book and how rushed it felt in places, with little overarching coherence and what felt like random segues in to different timeframes, and some areas where the editing could have caught repetition of facts and phrases within a few pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, War, Violence, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Blood, and Abortion

el_za_k's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Trafficking, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion

queenantipodes's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

blueskies157's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, War, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Genocide

amanda_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

3.0

○ Important reading on the sexual violence forced upon women in war and conflict. Lamb covers several conflicts during which sexual violence was not just 'something that happened' but rather was used as a tool for inducing fear in women and their communities. She described how society has -- and still -- largely ignore these crimes even though they are now considered war crimes. Yet, even with this acknowledgement of them as such crimes, when put on trial war criminals are rarely accused and/or convicted as it is often 'easier' to convict for other crimes, for example murder.

○ A number of women tell their stories in this book, each one as horrifying as the next. Painful memories are brought up and discussed how they have affected the women, many of whom have still not seen justice been brought. It also goes into details on how, just because the conflict(s) ended, the women are in some cases shunned from society as speaking up against their abusers meant they were looked down upon by their own communities.

○ At times repetitive, although understandable given the topic at hand. It is not easy reading, following one conflict and the women's accounts of how they were abused, some in one instance, others kept as sexual slaves for weeks, months, years. Each story deserves its place in history, for sure, but in this narrative they start to blend into each other some eerily similar. Which of course is a good point, showing that despite international condemnation, this type of violence directed toward women keeps on happening. But the book manage to convey this message and would have done so without such density of violence. A broader analysis is missing and could've easily fit in between the women's stories for a larger picture.

○ One complaint: Lamb tends to insert herself in the narrative, often commenting on how she did something, said something, that is not necessarily relevant to the narrative. She mentions her own trips in the countries she visits between her meetings with the women, commenting on how it's difficult to understand how blood had run in a certain building just years before. Or how she many times mention how someone told her, as if it is special that she's telling it to her and not someone else. It's a minor thing maybe, but not to me, because it jars with the idea that the books is about the women who suffered during the wars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

tabitha_isabelle's review

challenging dark emotional informative

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

jbraith's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Trafficking