Books on Thursday

I only read one book this week, but it was a good one. Barbara Kingsolver recommended it, so I figured it might be worth reading (and it was). 

Labor is a deeply personal memoir about medicine, family, identity, and women’s reproductive autonomy.

As an OB/GYN, Dr. Mary Afsari has spent her career caring for women, and much of the book explores the tension between the care she wants to provide and the increasingly complicated realities of the medical system. Her decision to leave the traditional hospital setting and create a mobile women’s health clinic becomes both a professional and personal turning point. Her central message is clear: women deserve agency over their own bodies, health care, and lives.

I was interested in the connection between Afsari’s medical career and the mystery surrounding her grandmother Mehry’s death in Iran in the 1950s. Uncovering this part of her family history gives the memoir another dimension, particularly as Afsari considers the ways that culture, family, and expectations shape women’s lives. The sections about Iran and her family history were among the most compelling parts of the book for me. I also appreciated the stories of Afsari’s patients and her efforts to make medical care more personal and compassionate. Her commitment to the women she serves comes through strongly.

That said, I didn’t connect equally with every part of the memoir. At times it felt more like a professional manifesto than a memoir, and some of the discussions of the medical system slowed the narrative for me. I also found myself wishing that certain personal and family stories had been explored more deeply.

Still, Labor raises important questions about who gets to make decisions about women’s bodies and health. Its strongest moments are those in which Dr. Afsari connects her own family history and experiences as a physician to the larger struggle for dignity, autonomy, and compassionate care. A thoughtful memoir with an important message about medicine, women’s health, and the power of reclaiming one’s own path. Three and a half stars rounded up. 

Now I'd love to know what you are reading!