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Weathering

The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life on the Body in an Unjust Society

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About this listen

'Monumental ' IBRAM X. KENDI
'Eloquent, comprehensive and compassionate' LINDA VILLAROSA
'Superbly insightful' HARRIET A. WASHINGTON

Fusing science and social justice, Weathering offers an urgent and necessary exploration of how systemic injustice erodes the health of marginalized people.

Renowned public health researcher Dr Arline T. Geronimus coined the term 'weathering' to describe what public health statistics have long evidenced: systemic injustice takes a physical, oftentimes deadly, toll on Black, brown, working class and poor communities. They are disproportionately more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and die at much younger ages than their middle- and upper-class white counterparts.

Weathering argues that health and ageing have more to do with how society treats us than how well we take care of ourselves. It reveals what happens to human bodies as they attempt to withstand and overcome the challenges that society leverages at them, and details how this process ravages health.

Until now, there has been little discussion about the insidious effects of social injustice on the body. Weathering shifts the paradigm and provides compelling solutions, shining a light on the topic and offering a roadmap for hope.©2023 Dr Arline Geronimus
Medicine & Health Care Industry Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences Health Discrimination Inspiring Social justice

Critic reviews

The culmination of a life's groundbreaking work... frequently jaw-dropping... reasons for optimism too... crisp, backed with evidence and rather heroic in spirit
One of the most significant public health research discoveries of the last few decades is this: when it comes to health and aging, how society treats us has more of an impact than how we take care of ourselves. In this monumental book, Arline T. Geronimus meticulously demonstrates that systemic injustice isn't just oppressive - it's toxic on the body; it's deadly
That body of evidence, which Dr. Geronimus describes in her new book, Weathering has turned her into an "icon" and provided a framework for understanding health inequities that goes deeper than blaming poor health on lifestyle choices or flawed genetics
Superbly insightful. If this unique volume did nothing else, I would recommend Weathering as the book on healthcare disparities. But it also distills and delivers its scholarship and insight in engaging narratives, including compelling personal histories so that you will glean your education in racial health disparities-and how to end them-quite painlessly. In fact, reading Weathering, with its clear-eyed mixture of reality and hope, is a delight
Arline Geronimus brings together a lifetime of research, scholarship, and experience to explain how continually battling back oppression hurts the human body. Her book offers an eloquent, comprehensive and compassionate framework for understanding the physiological effects of societal harm and a path to healing (Linda Villarosa, author of Under the Skin)
As I learn more about the complexity of chronic diseases, and the reasons black people who grew up like I did endure them more often than others, it provides me a peace of mind I didn't know was possible. This book brings clarity where I've long had confusion. No doubt, it will influence the broader discussion about health and race in this country on a macro and policy-level. But more than that, it will be invaluable to folks who've faced anything like I did since I was a child
In trying to understand the causes of group disparities in health outcomes, analysts have focused on features of the disadvantaged groups themselves - their genes, culture, income level, etc. - at the expense of environmental factors. Weathering corrects this bias. Better than any writing I've seen, it shows how the environments of the disenfranchised have a weathering impact on their health and longevity. Well-written and accessible, it is a powerful book; indispensable to developing policies capable of reducing these disparities. And more generally, it is a must read by anyone interested in the nature of identity in American life. In short, it deserves the very broadest of readerships!
All stars
Most relevant
This is a must read for anyone who work in the healthcare profession. Social injustice is pervasive and there need to be more voices and coverage of the issue as covered by this book. Very easy to assimilate and synthesise as the topic is broken down in comprehensive frameworks.

Well researched and ground breaking in it approach

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