RaveThe NationO’Rourke is not content with simply explaining what it’s like to be ill, though she does that very well. Instead, she deftly weaves scientific explanations of autoimmune illnesses and the broader problems of American medicine into a personal narrative of her search for answers ... O’Rourke refuses to give the reader trite reassurances that the \"wisdom\" gained from her experience with chronic illness was somehow worth it ... Perhaps its most valuable contribution is the way it articulates the loneliness and frustration of having symptoms that superficially resemble the pains and pressures of contemporary life in the United States while being much more severe.
