The blurb caught my attention, and the book lived up to my expectations.

Maya Rao is a flawed, yet relatable character. Sinha addresses a number of relevant issues, including sexism, racism, and the popularity of alternative medicine. Maya struggles with the work/home life balance, which will likely resonate with readers. There is a bit of mystery involved, as well, which I wasn't expecting but enjoyed. The pace was a bit slow at the beginning, but it picked up as the story unfolded. Secondary characters were well developed and utilized, and there was significant growth with them, as well as with the main characters.

This book is one that provides entertainment, but it's a bit serious, as well, so it's a nice mix. As someone who lives with chronic pain, I've spent plenty of time in doctor's offices during my lifetime, and I loved the quote: "talk to the patients and learn about their lives. Try to find out how you can be useful to them...Center the patient, not yourself." If only all doctors had that philosophy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for gifting me a digital copy of the wonderful novel by Madi Sinha. I was a huge fan of White Coat Diaries and I loved this one too - 5 stars!

Dr Maya Rao is a gynecologist and mother of 3 young children, trying to do it all but never feeling like it's enough. When an encounter with an important patient goes wrong and she has to leave the hospital where she has spent her entire career, she feels lost. Amelia, another mother at the exclusive school where her oldest daughter attends, talks her into joining her practice of concierge medicine for wealthy clients. But Maya may have to sacrifice her values in order to do Amelia's bidding.

I loved this book - this would be the perfect book club selection for moms who are trying to do it all and feeling like a failure at every turn. Add to that this book's topics of colorism, classism, sexism - there's a lot to talk about! In addition, we see how culture and family background/expectations follow and change Maya's core. But she is so relatable - I'm not sure I've laughed harder at the car wash and cloth diaper scenes! This is definitely a must read book!

To be honest, if this book hadn't been offered to me, I wouldn't have read it because it's a book outside my comfort zone. I must say that I liked it, it was interesting and it reminded me a bit of Grey's Anatomy.

Maya Rao is a gynecologist trying to balance her family life with her work. However, she must leave the hospital where she works because of a problem with a patient. Fortunately, she gets another opportunity, one where she meets Amelia DeGilles, but of course, Amelia hides secrets.

I liked the plot pacing, and the book talks about new things that I didn't know. As I said, it reminded me a bit of a medical drama/series episode. But of course, not everything is about medicine, but also family. I enjoyed seeing the strong bond between Maya's family, they're very close, and that's because of her great work as a mother and her husband's support.

I have no more words to say about the book. It was a different story, and you should read it if you are interested in the plot.

Thank you to Berkley, NetGalley, and Madi Sinha for a digital ARC of At Least You Have Your Health!

This is one of those books that grips you right from the start. Thrust into the exclusive Hamilton Hall school, the hot gossip between mothers focuses on the new mom, Maya Rao, and how she managed to attract the attention of the legendary Amelia DeGilles. What follows is the story of Maya Rao, a devoted mother and gynecologist, who finds herself in a precarious situation at work and in her personal life, remedied by a stroke of luck. After walking out of her city hospital after a nasty encounter with a patient, Maya finds relief from all her worries becoming a concierge gynecologist for wealthy women at Eunoia Women’s Health, owned by Amelia. Eunoia goes against everything Maya stands for, providing alternative health treatments not rooted in science and fact, but the ability to be more present in her children’s lives makes her put her morals aside and join the elitist clinic.

I absolutely loved this story. Learning more about Maya and her childhood, seeing how she was affected being the daughter of Indian immigrants, and how she copes with all the unwanted pressure of being an outsider in her own town, it is easy to get sucked into her story. At every twist and turn I wanted to shake Maya and get her to snap out of it! It reads almost like a mystery, pulling back the layers of the elusive Amelia, all while Maya navigates her own hectic life as a mother of 3, wife, breadwinner for her family, and doctor.

This book deals with very real issues like racism, sexism, and motherhood in a very real-world way, and just pulls at your heart strings. I cannot recommend this book enough. I couldn’t put it down! Plus, the very accurate descriptions of human anatomy from her children made me laugh out loud.

At Least You Have Your Health releases on April 5th in print and e-book!

A little info about the author. As a practicing physician herself, Sinha’s upcoming novel comments on the need for improved women’s healthcare and education, and she encourages readers to take a closer look at the good and the bad of the wellness trends that are so prevalent in our society.

What I liked about this book is that it does make you think about women’s healthcare, and how often we are not considered, even by female doctors. I know I have experienced it myself, especially not being listened to. I also liked that the main character was trying to organise proper education to kids in school about their bodies.

SPOILERS AHEAD

What I didn't like.

I understood why she accepted the job, with a mortgage to pay and kids to feed, you don’t always have the flexibility to wait for the perfect job. However, when she started working for Eunoia, Maya tosses most of her values aside. This strong, educated, doctor, begins to pander to women with no medical knowledge whatsoever. After all her fighting at the start of the book about education, she allowed people to continue believing in various snake oils and treatments and said little to nothing. It was infuriating to read.

While I didn’t like the journey Maya took to get to her end destination, I did love her ending, it made all the frustration in the middle of the book worth the read.

Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for the digital ARC.

At Least You Have Your Health is one of those books where, as I was reading, I had to tell my friends about it. It's one of those, "can you believe what I'm reading?!" kind of books. Not only was I shocked - but not surprised - about how little these characters know about women's bodies and health, but also the ways that misinformation can spread. At Least You Have Your Health is one of those books which completely captivates you. Have you ever read a book where you just wanna scream a bit at a character?

That was me and Maya. Because while we can see the position she's put in as a woman of color who was taught to always want more and their financial position, you're like, "MAYA!!". Wanting to do that means that the author has done their job in moving you. The whole time I was conflicted between knowing exactly how Maya feels as she falls into this situation of never being content, while also being so wrapped up. So, not going to lie, maybe there's a piece of myself which can see how this could easily have been me.

(4.5/5 stars)
I loved this book so much! It’s about a gynecologist who finds herself working at a “concierge luxury medicine” business where extremely wealthy women get all kinds of weird treatments — many of which they simply read about online and “heard were great for [insert random thing here].”

There also were themes of education about health, and specifically women’s health, throughout the book, as well as the theme of examining privilege and race, all of which were tied into the story seamlessly.

It was funny and entertaining, with a gripping plot that I couldn’t put down. I loved the characters as well—they drove the story and came to life on the page. It was such a great read and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing Group and Penguin Random House for the digital ARC of this book.

I honestly didn't enjoy reading this book for the most part. I did laugh at situations, and I identified with the experience of being a working mom.

I will say that this book was interesting and I appreciated its keen examination on alternate medicine and class and race. Perfect for readers of "Such a Fun Age" and "Big Little Lies" or of the podcast "Maintenance Phase."

Some of the characters and scenes were over the top, almost unbelievable. All characters except maybe Esther were extremely unlikeable, although they were all multi-faceted and very complex.

I did appreciate how everything wrapped up, including the medical mysteries. The ending was the strongest part of the book.

I think a Content Warning regarding traumatic birth would be wise.

What a terrific read this is! Sinha gently takes on the "wellness" industry of crystals, supplements, and other things that don't have scientific support, through the story of Dr. Maya Rao, a gynecologist who finds herself wrapped into the profitable world after she stands up for herself (and others) at the hospital where she works. The daughter of immigrants and mom of three, she's married to Dean who is working on a Phd while teaching at the University. She's managing a lot, admittedly not always as well as she could, but she's doing her best. And then comes the hateful horrible VIP patient who leads her to quit and go to work for Amelia, whose company Eunonia is concierge medicine for the Goop set. Now Maya is dealing with other high end women notably the pregnant daughter of a Congressman. Maya doesn't deliver babies any more - she says it's because the hours didn't work for her with hung kids but....And then there's Prom, Amelia's daughter, who has something going off in her body, but what? I adored this book for the very real people (her kids! Dean! The lady with the crystal!), the very fun scenes (the car wash!), and the sad ones as well. We should all have a colleague like Esther. It's a wonderfully written emotionally resonant novel with a great protagonist and a zippy plot that kept me guessing. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Highly recommend.

Gynecologist Maya Rao is floundering. Frustrated with the lack of education about women's health and the bureaucracy of hospital work, struggling to balance work and family, and worn down by constant micro- and macro- aggressions in all areas of her life, she needs a change. When the hospital fails to support her after a confrontation with a wealthy patient, Maya says enough is enough and walks out... and into the surreal world of concierge medicine. But as she caters to the whims of the rich and privileged, will Maya be able to hold onto her ideals? Or will she be lost to the promise of wealth and prestige?

Sinha's writing is sharp and funny, with incisive commentary on everything from the seductive lure of alternative medicine to socioeconomic divides to familial dynamics and the ways trauma is unintentionally passed down generations. The plot trajectory is predictable but satisfyingly so — who doesn't enjoy a good The Devil Wears Prada-esque tale of rags to riches to self-acceptance? My main hurdle getting into the book was understanding how a gynecologist — particularly one who is so invested in promoting awareness and helping women understand their bodies as Maya is — could know nothing about "wellness culture." I can only assume that Goop doesn't exist in this world because, while I understand Maya is barely keeping her head above water, I can't imagine that her assistant, Esther, wouldn't know what's up. However, it's precisely because Sinha does so well establishing all the ways Maya is struggling — and all of the ways she, as the daughter of immigrants, has always longed for assimilation — that I was eventually able to believe the way she's roped into a culture that goes against everything she believes in.

At Least You Have Your Health is not a book I'd typically pick up on my own, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. While my blood pressure did go up during some of the passages related to Maya's work (because I know there are people who are this tragically misinformed and happily buying the snake oil), it was very fun. Sinha has a gift for wry humor, and the bits with Maya's loud, boisterous children had me laughing out loud. Likewise, the conversations with Esther and with Maya's husband were entertaining while also cutting to the heart of real issues, like the ways two women of color (Maya and Esther) can still have very different experiences of racism in the U.S. and how a person or family (Maya and Dean) answer the question, "When will it be enough?"

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great adult contemporary read! I really liked the writing. And I would definitely recommend this to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Attention all girl boss skeptics — add this one to your TBR!

🌿 REVIEW: At Least You Have Your Health 🌿

By Madi Sinha

📖 SUMMARY: Dr. Maya Rao is a gynecologist trying to juggle her full-time career with being an involved wife and mother, which involves enrolling her oldest in an exclusive private school. It’s there during a parents’ meeting that she crosses paths with Amelia DeGillies, the owner of Eunoia, a concierge health & wellness clinic for only the most wealthy & elite. Amelia offers her a job, and Maya is reluctant, but she accepts after she suddenly finds herself in need of a new job. The clients pay thousands of dollars for things that have no evidence of working and might even be detrimental to their health, so It doesn’t take long for Maya to become seriously skeptical of the “treatments” that her new employer offers…

💭 THOUGHTS: I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but I was thoroughly pleased by the story! I always appreciate a good story about a women struggling to be both a full-time mom and a full-time career woman, and this one really explored that concept with plenty of marriage arguments, money problems, and young kids that you love but also kind of want to shut in a closet. I LOVED the concept of this concierge luxury wellness clinic, where the doctors make house calls and give their client whatever they want, even if that’s a “healing” crystal with a price tag of $2k. (If you’re really into the crystal thing, maybe don’t read this one. 😂) The criticism of girl boss culture and interesting plot made this one a good read for me!

Thank you to @ netgalley and @ Berkleypub for the arc. This one comes out on April 5!

✨ RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥰 YOU’LL ENJOY IF: you loved the social commentary of THE HUSBANDS and feel a lil 🤨 about health & wellness trends

I liked that the main character of this story is a married woman with three children - and that she is successfully able to follow a career and be a mom. Her life represents the reality of a working mom - the representation is not perfect. The story references how she strives to be better than the family situation she comes from. In the story she learns how in her desire to be 'better' she is leaving behind what she believes to be important.

This book took me completely by surprise! It covered racial and cultural topics, feminism, and healthcare in such a relatable way that I couldn't help myself and cried "Yes! Thank you" while reading. Writing is amazing, the main character is smart and strong, but at the same, she is only human and we were able to follow character development and how and why she made her choices. The story had some interesting twists that kept me wondering "what actually happened?", and some great humor and sarcasm. It was also very educational and I honestly think that everyone should read it.
Thank you so much, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a free copy.

At Least You Have Your Health examines women's health, wellness culture, and class through a critical, but hilarious lens. Protagonist Maya goes through a startling revolution when she begins working at a luxury health practice and she must balance doing what she knows is right with her desire to fit in, work autonomously, and cope with the pressures of being a working mother. I really enjoyed this title, Maya's journey, and the rest of the characters antics that lead to Maya's ultimate triumph.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

**Many thanks to Shelf Awareness, Berkley, NetGalley, and Madi Sinha for an ARC of this book!**

Witty, emotional, heartfelt, intelligent, and ever-surprising...this stunner from Madi Sinha drew me in from page one and didn't let up till its twisty and fabulous end!

Dr. Maya Rao is SOMEwhat of your typical gynecologist and requisite Super Mom. She juggles three kids, a husband, and a busy life at her hospital What sets her apart from the average doctor, however, is her inability to deal with nonsense...and it is this same refusal to acquiesce to a snotty and high-maintenance patient that ultimately causes her to walk away from her position at the hospital and seek new horizons. She has gotten her oldest into the fancy-pants school in town and feels out of place with her Honda 'Hotessy' and feels the sneers of the snobby mothers around her burning holes in her back...UNTIL Maya makes the acquaintance of Amelia: wealthy, picture-perfect owner of Eunoia, a clinic that functions as a private concierge health service, where doctors travel to the rich and privileged, who often put more faith in alternative medicine via crystals and fish oil than Western medicine backed by science and fact, and get treated THEIR way.

This seems diametrically opposed to everything Maya stands for, as her dream is to have women actually INFORMED about the realities about their own bodies rather than relying on hearsay and theories...but she can't turn away from the opportunity, and after convincing her former assistant and med student Esther to join her, she gets fully engrossed in the medical and personal lives of the Wealthy and Powerful. When her close bond with Amelia's daughter, Prem, and a client who is insistent on a very specific (and very dangerous) way of giving birth lead her to question everything she holds dear, will Maya speak up when Amelia would have her stay silent? Is this new career path really what she wants...and just how much is she willing to compromise to keep going down this road? And will a secret from her past hold her captive and powerless, JUST when her misguided client needs her most....when a situation truly spirals to be a matter of life and death?

I'm not sure what I was expecting coming into this read...all I know is by the end of the third chapter or so, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite reads of the year...and now that I've finished it, my hunch was absolutely ON POINT! Sinha's wit sparkles from the very beginning, and she had me chuckling out loud and nodding my head emphatically from the very start. I am so grateful to have read this book as a mom, because not only was it utterly relatable, but I had such a different perspective on the OB-GYN world after having a child that really informed my perspective. Don't be fooled--this book is funny and fun at times, but it doesn't shy away from heavy topics, and the reflections on everything from the daily grind of motherhood to the effects of the patriarchy on the medical system to the wealth gap are ALL explored here, and I think this would be a perfect book for book club discussion. I never thought about the pros and cons of concierge care, but since Sinha comes from the medical world, her words are thoughtful and authentic, and will certainly get you reflecting on what care truly entails, and what an efficient and patient-centered system COULD look like...in a different world.

Although I may have been gritting my teeth in frustration at Maya's actions at times throughout the book, Sinha's characters are all absolutely FANTASTIC! From Maya's hilarious four year old to her patient yet frustrated husband, every side player has a purpose and all of them felt truly real and necessary to the narrative. The slight implausibility of some of the characters' actions throughout is one of the only things that kept this from being a solid 5 star read for me, but we all have people in our lives that at times can't see the forest for the trees...at least temporarily. All this aside, Maya couldn't get to where she lands at the end of the story without these trials and all of the soul searching, so that alone makes her motivations clear.

Of course, this whole book hinges on the discussion of women's healthcare, a topic too often overlooked, and one that certainly deserves a megaphone and a spotlight, particularly in this day and age. Though the system at large fails us all, it disproportionately affects women and even more so, women of color, and Sinha's message is loud and clear. All of Maya's visions for the future in the industry aren't simply pie-in-the-sky idealism, and there has never been a better time for change than the present moment. I applaud her for bringing these insights and revelations into the mainstream in a fresh and accessible way, and hopefully inspiring her readers to help BE the change we all wish to see in the medical world.

This book is Women's Fiction the way it was meant to be: like the best women you've ever known, this one is bold, funny, clever, profound, strong...and in a class all its own!

4.5 stars

At Least You Have Your Health was an interesting story about a doctor named Maya who works in the woman's health field. After losing her job as an ob-gyn she takes one that caters to rich people. The clients are nuts, the situations funny, and the dialogue is really great. I enjoyed the story, especially the little mystery as to why Prem was acting the way she did. All in all, it's a good quick read.

Maya’s life is busy, but she loves her kids, her husband and her job. until one day when someone makes a racist remark and Maya cracks. When she quits, she finds herself wrapped up in the concierge medical field started by one of the school moms. While she feels she can do good, Maya starts to see that this practice is more about just going with whatever the patient wants or believes, rather than listening to science.

Phew. Ok this book was heavyyyyy. Not like overtly in your face heavy, but a makes you think long and hard about the state of medicine and medicinal care while reading and well after. Especially since I have a friend that is currently dealing with Dr.’s not listening when she is telling them she knows something is wrong, it made it hit even harder. I could totally see how Maya fell into the trap of letting the patient decide what they needed, but at the same time it made me furious that she was ignoring her own medical knowledge. I don’t want to say much more, but I think this book gives a really great look at the two forms of medicine we have right now. Standard medical care, where sometimes you have to fight for your own needs, and holistic care, which sometimes can be a complete load of crap or possibly make things worse. This book really showed that we need to find a balance between the two.

AT LEAST YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH
by Madi Sinha
Berkley Publishing Group
Pub Date: Apr 5

What a great book! Loved the interweaving of mystery, health care, working mothers, multicultural and socioeconomic differences, and the author's wry wit about the concept of wellness medical practices geared to the ultra rich. A winner!

Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#atleastyouhaveyourhealth #madisinha #berkleypublishinggroup #NetGalley