Women's Health for Life

April 20, 2009
Moore, a frequent guest on the Oprah show, helms a list of “world class” female physician coauthors. The book opens with the old news that women’s wellness has taken a backseat to men’s, even though it’s been 20 years since the government insisted that clinical trials include women. The few reliable, comprehensive guides to women’s health include most notably Our Bodies, Ourselves
and The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health
, but this new resource is not one of them. It offers broad coverage, but insufficient straightforward information. Opening with the familiar discussion about why women are different and deserve appropriate care, the book covers minimal basic explanations and advice for maintaining health and understanding and recognizing symptoms of disease. In an effort to offer nonalarmist guidance, the coauthors downplay the severity of certain conditions, including cancer, liver disease and coronary artery disease. Twelve of 16 chapters, each presenting short overviews, sidebars, charts, illustrations, symptom checklists and advice for self-care, focus on an individual physiological system (hormones, breast health, heart, etc.). The message that informed patients receive better care is here, but symptom checklists are incomplete and explanations cursory at best.