Description

WINNER OF THE BREAD & ROSES PRIZE FOR RADICAL PUBLISHING 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE 2024

A FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOK OF 2023

‘Important and ambitious’ Observer, Book of the Day

‘An illuminating and powerful intersectional analysis of health inequalities and racism’ i-D Magazine

‘Prepare to be blown away’ Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director General at WHO

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are all too aware of the urgent health inequalities that plague our world. But these inequalities have always been urgent: modern medicine has a colonial and racist history.

Here, in an essential and searing account, Annabel Sowemimo unravels the colonial roots of modern medicine. Tackling systemic racism, hidden histories and healthcare myths, Sowemimo recounts her own experiences as a doctor, patient and activist.

Divided exposes the racial biases of medicine that affect our everyday lives and provides an illuminating – and incredibly necessary – insight into how our world works, and who it works for.

This book will reshape how we see health and medicine – forever.

‘A vital call to action’ Leah Hazard, author of Womb

‘Urgent examination of how modern medicine is intertwined with colonial histories and racist ideas … compelling story-telling’ Joanna Wolfarth, author of Milk

‘Outstanding … beautifully written and erudite, yet highly accessible … should be mandatory reading for all medical practitioners’ Jacqueline Roy, author of The Fat Lady Sings

‘Necessary. In the right hands, this book will save lives’ Nova Reid, author of The Good Ally

Publisher Review

AN ILLUMINATING AND POWERFUL INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF HEALTH INEQALITIES AND RACISM * i-D Magazine, All the books to be excited for in 2023 * Divided is a vital call to action. With passion and expertise, Dr Sowemimo exposes the racism in modern medicine and shows us how we can - and must - transform healthcare for future generations. -- Leah Hazard Annabel Sowemimo ... is taking the art of curating stories that matter to another level. Prepare to be blown away. -- Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director General at WHO Through meticulous research and compelling story-telling, the book is an erudite and urgent examination of how modern medicine is intertwined with colonial histories and racist ideas. Annabel deftly weaves history, her own experiences and contemporary inequalities into a powerful and urgent book. While essential reading for anyone working in healthcare, Annabel reminds us that the arts and humanities were also instrumental in communicating so-called 'scientific' ideas about race that informed medical practices. This is an urgent and important reading for anyone engaged in anti-racist and decolonising work across all disciplines. -- Joanna Wolfarth, author of MILK Necessary. In the right hands, this book will save lives -- Nova Reid, author of THE GOOD ALLY This outstanding book should be mandatory reading for all medical practitioners. Beautifully written and erudite, yet highly accessible, it conveys some uncomfortable truths about the unequal treatment of patients of colour, locating the origins of this in European colonialism, history and science. It provides a basis for bringing an end to discriminatory practices, which couldn't be more timely, particularly in the context of COVID. Annabel Sowemimo's compassion and humanity shine through. I can't stress the importance of this book strongly enough. -- Jacqueline Roy, author of THE FAT LADY SINGS Wide-ranging in scope, Divided is an important contribution to the literature on racism and health. Dr Sowemimo challenges us to think deeper about what we know about medicine and question what we have been taught. Divided is an essential book for anyone working in healthcare, and will be of interest to anyone who is a patient. I will be recommending it far and wide! -- Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan This polemic [...] explains how health divisions are not accidental but occur because of ways in which modern healthcare is built on the back of race science and our colonial history. * Bookseller, Editor's Choice *