Review of Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier

[Kshitija Sonawane]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier" by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Have you ever heard of sickle cell anemia? I remember it was first taught to us in eighth grade. Sickle cell anemia means that the red blood cells are sickle-shaped instead of their regular biconcave shapes. They cannot go everywhere like normal red blood cells do. Because of this, oxygen cannot go everywhere. It is a recessive trait. So, those who are sickle cell dominant supposedly die in the womb. We were told that those who inherit the recessive sickle cell trait live a normal life. However, Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier, a book that challenged my previous beliefs, made me realize that there's more to this condition than meets the eye. This book has significant implications for our understanding of sickle cell anemia, particularly in challenging the traditional view of the disease.

The book, written by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller, starts with an explanation of sickle cell anemia. It further talks about the author's personal journey, her struggles with the disease, and the dismissals she faced from medical professionals. This personal touch makes the book more relatable and engaging. The book also sheds light on the author's perspective on the medical professionals' dismissal, providing a balanced view of the healthcare system's treatment of sickle cell anemia patients.

This book was like a wake-up call. Yes, we were taught about how carriers of this disease might have problems with their babies. However, I somehow did not associate it with real people. Seeing the author having such pain with her miscarriage broke my heart. The second pregnancy, especially, was very bad. As a woman myself, I would be absolutely broken if I had to go through this. I liked the author’s resolution and willpower. Was she successful in giving birth to the baby? Or will the fate of the first pregnancy repeat for the second time? I was very curious to find out.

Whenever I thought I could not be more horrified, the author kept proving me wrong. The medical negligence by healthcare workers was enormous. It is hard to believe that this happened in this century and not five to six centuries ago. Also, my mind constantly kept going to one detail: the medical bills. The good thing is that the author is based in the UK, giving her a way to survive without having debts. However, the terrible service she received was also because she was based in the UK.

Miller is a fighter through and through. She fights the disease in her body, the people around her, and the doctors who treat her, and she still tries to live a normal life, working jobs and all. I admire this spirit, and she talks about how praying has helped her throughout her life so that she can fight. This book is about faith, willpower, and general ignorance about sickle cell carriers in the medical community.

Another thing I did not find in this book is profanity or any sexual scene. However, there were a lot of disturbing scenes involved. One such scene was how her hospital bathroom’s commode had filled up with blood and stools and how it was leaking out of the bathroom and entering the hospital room. I also found a racial slur in the book. Someone had called the author that term.

My critique lies in the first chapter. I feel like she could have gone into more detail, talking about genes, dominant genes, recessive genes, and so on. However, she did include pictures of the diagrams. Those were very helpful. I do realize that this is not a medicinal book. However, directly talking about genes without explaining these terms just seems wrong.

The author has been through a lot. She wrote this book so that healthcare workers would become more aware and won’t treat other patients of the trait the way they treated her. Editing of this book was good too. This is why I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

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Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Stephen Christopher 1]

Wow, you just taught me something! I'd heard of sickle-cell anemia but I didn't know what it was, and now I do. Health care around the world appears to be an issue. My 82yo mother has just had a situation at a hospital here in Thailand where they wanted her to have thousands of dollars of tests that she didn't need, purely to make money. The nurse was aggressively angry when we declined the tests. A book like this I hope, will wake up some of the medical professionals to focus more on patient care/requests than their own interests.

[Nneka Bridget]

Thank you for sharing this insightful review. It’s clear the book provides a valuable, real-world perspective on sickle cell anemia, which sounds both impactful and enlightening. I'll definitely consider adding this to my reading list.

[Steeve Bowen]

The little I can get from this review is a lot to take in. How can the medical services be that bad in this century! I love the fact that Miller is a fighter and I really hopes that she emerged as a winner over sickle cell anemia. This review is quite touching.

[Barar Zaki]

Interesting. This disease when impacted, has been causing a lot bru ha ha in the world of humanity of times.

[ZCReviews]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier" by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Share This Review

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Have you ever heard of sickle cell anemia? I remember it was first taught to us in eighth grade. Sickle cell anemia means that the red blood cells are sickle-shaped instead of their regular biconcave shapes. They cannot go everywhere like normal red blood cells do. Because of this, oxygen cannot go everywhere. It is a recessive trait. So, those who are sickle cell dominant supposedly die in the womb. We were told that those who inherit the recessive sickle cell trait live a normal life. However, Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier, a book that challenged my previous beliefs, made me realize that there's more to this condition than meets the eye. This book has significant implications for our understanding of sickle cell anemia, particularly in challenging the traditional view of the disease.

The book, written by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller, starts with an explanation of sickle cell anemia. It further talks about the author's personal journey, her struggles with the disease, and the dismissals she faced from medical professionals. This personal touch makes the book more relatable and engaging. The book also sheds light on the author's perspective on the medical professionals' dismissal, providing a balanced view of the healthcare system's treatment of sickle cell anemia patients.

This book was like a wake-up call. Yes, we were taught about how carriers of this disease might have problems with their babies. However, I somehow did not associate it with real people. Seeing the author having such pain with her miscarriage broke my heart. The second pregnancy, especially, was very bad. As a woman myself, I would be absolutely broken if I had to go through this. I liked the author’s resolution and willpower. Was she successful in giving birth to the baby? Or will the fate of the first pregnancy repeat for the second time? I was very curious to find out.

Whenever I thought I could not be more horrified, the author kept proving me wrong. The medical negligence by healthcare workers was enormous. It is hard to believe that this happened in this century and not five to six centuries ago. Also, my mind constantly kept going to one detail: the medical bills. The good thing is that the author is based in the UK, giving her a way to survive without having debts. However, the terrible service she received was also because she was based in the UK.

Miller is a fighter through and through. She fights the disease in her body, the people around her, and the doctors who treat her, and she still tries to live a normal life, working jobs and all. I admire this spirit, and she talks about how praying has helped her throughout her life so that she can fight. This book is about faith, willpower, and general ignorance about sickle cell carriers in the medical community.

Another thing I did not find in this book is profanity or any sexual scene. However, there were a lot of disturbing scenes involved. One such scene was how her hospital bathroom’s commode had filled up with blood and stools and how it was leaking out of the bathroom and entering the hospital room. I also found a racial slur in the book. Someone had called the author that term.

My critique lies in the first chapter. I feel like she could have gone into more detail, talking about genes, dominant genes, recessive genes, and so on. However, she did include pictures of the diagrams. Those were very helpful. I do realize that this is not a medicinal book. However, directly talking about genes without explaining these terms just seems wrong.

The author has been through a lot. She wrote this book so that healthcare workers would become more aware and won’t treat other patients of the trait the way they treated her. Editing of this book was good too. This is why I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

******
Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

This review was very comprehensive; it gave me a good idea of what to expect from the book. I like your recap of what sickle cell anemia is. I don't usually read medical biography-type books because they tend to either infuriate me or make me really sad, and it sounds like this book would do both. I'm proud of the author for surviving what she went through and happy that she put her story out there in the hopes of making a change in how our other patients are treated.

[Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis]

Fantastic review! I had always heard about the disease but never really looked into it as it didn't relate to me or my family. I will look into it now. Thank you for the great review!

[Gerry Steen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier" by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Share This Review

---

Have you ever heard of sickle cell anemia? I remember it was first taught to us in eighth grade. Sickle cell anemia means that the red blood cells are sickle-shaped instead of their regular biconcave shapes. They cannot go everywhere like normal red blood cells do. Because of this, oxygen cannot go everywhere. It is a recessive trait. So, those who are sickle cell dominant supposedly die in the womb. We were told that those who inherit the recessive sickle cell trait live a normal life. However, Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier, a book that challenged my previous beliefs, made me realize that there's more to this condition than meets the eye. This book has significant implications for our understanding of sickle cell anemia, particularly in challenging the traditional view of the disease.

The book, written by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller, starts with an explanation of sickle cell anemia. It further talks about the author's personal journey, her struggles with the disease, and the dismissals she faced from medical professionals. This personal touch makes the book more relatable and engaging. The book also sheds light on the author's perspective on the medical professionals' dismissal, providing a balanced view of the healthcare system's treatment of sickle cell anemia patients.

This book was like a wake-up call. Yes, we were taught about how carriers of this disease might have problems with their babies. However, I somehow did not associate it with real people. Seeing the author having such pain with her miscarriage broke my heart. The second pregnancy, especially, was very bad. As a woman myself, I would be absolutely broken if I had to go through this. I liked the author’s resolution and willpower. Was she successful in giving birth to the baby? Or will the fate of the first pregnancy repeat for the second time? I was very curious to find out.

Whenever I thought I could not be more horrified, the author kept proving me wrong. The medical negligence by healthcare workers was enormous. It is hard to believe that this happened in this century and not five to six centuries ago. Also, my mind constantly kept going to one detail: the medical bills. The good thing is that the author is based in the UK, giving her a way to survive without having debts. However, the terrible service she received was also because she was based in the UK.

Miller is a fighter through and through. She fights the disease in her body, the people around her, and the doctors who treat her, and she still tries to live a normal life, working jobs and all. I admire this spirit, and she talks about how praying has helped her throughout her life so that she can fight. This book is about faith, willpower, and general ignorance about sickle cell carriers in the medical community.

Another thing I did not find in this book is profanity or any sexual scene. However, there were a lot of disturbing scenes involved. One such scene was how her hospital bathroom’s commode had filled up with blood and stools and how it was leaking out of the bathroom and entering the hospital room. I also found a racial slur in the book. Someone had called the author that term.

My critique lies in the first chapter. I feel like she could have gone into more detail, talking about genes, dominant genes, recessive genes, and so on. However, she did include pictures of the diagrams. Those were very helpful. I do realize that this is not a medicinal book. However, directly talking about genes without explaining these terms just seems wrong.

The author has been through a lot. She wrote this book so that healthcare workers would become more aware and won’t treat other patients of the trait the way they treated her. Editing of this book was good too. This is why I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

******
Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

I am surprised that the medical community in the UK could have been so ignorant and uncaring about a patient suffering from sickle-cell anemia. This story needs telling and people need to be educated about this condition. I congratulate the author, Louise Rachael Mwape Miller, for taking the initiative to write this story and for earning a 5-star rating from you. Great review!

[Qwerty Writes]

It sounds like such a heartbreaking tale. But I can imagine similar situations in public hospitals here in my own country. Though not to the degree of blood all over the place but rather the negligence of patients. I'd love to go through the book myself sometime.

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier" by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller.]

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5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The book, written by Louise Rachael Mwape Miller, starts with an explanation of sickle cell anemia. It further talks about the author's personal journey, her struggles with the disease, and the dismissals she faced from medical professionals. This personal touch makes the book more relatable and engaging. The book also sheds light on the author's perspective on the medical professionals' dismissal, providing a balanced view of the healthcare system's treatment of sickle cell anemia patients.

******
Symptomatic: Life of A Sickle Cell Carrier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Blueberry Dragon]

I agree with you that more education around sickle-cell anemia and better understanding would benefit its victims. Thanks for the informative review, @Kshitija Sonawane.