I really enjoyed Cost of Living, particularly as as audiobook! I read a lot of disability/chronic illness-related memoirs so I've read many books about hospitals, etc., but I loved this perspective on our medical system.

If I'm honest I had a hard time with this book. I feel like it wasn't very concise. The author has a unique point of view having seen many sides of the medical industry, but I felt like she hadn't seen enough of any of them to truly understand and relay her points concisely. And if I'm honest I disagreed with a lot of them. It wasn't a bad book, it was decent. Maybe worth a read to get a different viewpoint but there are many issues that I had with it. It's disjointed and it kind of feels like she can't figure out what her own opinion is and it's badly written. I will say that she had many valid points but they were overshadowed by what just felt like a bunch of bitching with no intention or attempt at a better solution. Always felt like she was angry at the patience for being sick. From her view, The only victim in this book was her and that was quite clear. Plus I found her general attitude toward patients snarky and overwhelmingly self-involved and as a person who has been a patient her whole life, I could feel her prejudgment of people before she even met them. Like I said, she hasn't experienced enough of all sides. I expected a lot more. What I know for sure is I sure as s*** wouldn't want her to be on my medical team. Her experience with the financial cost of living as she says simultaneously nothing special and unique. Unique cuz it didn't follow her for the rest of her life whereas everyone else, they lose their house, their families and their lives to A system that is supposed to be supportive of life. I agree with her on many levels that, well essentially, what is the point of saving a life if you take everything that made that life worth living with it. When you also take the freedom and the ability to actually live. But there were so many other things that were a problem for me in this book that it's hard for me to look past them to the valid points. thank you #netgalley for the chance to read this book.

“Cost of Living”, Emily Maloney’s brilliant essay collection, is an examination of the price and quality of America’s healthcare system and to what extent it requires ordinary people to take on large medical debt.

Maloney tried to kill herself when she was 19, swallowing 8,000 milligrams of the lithium carbonate she was prescribed for depression, and then spent time on a psych ward. She was treated for mental illness only to discover her sickness didn't have its roots in psychiatry but was caused by a vitamin D deficiency, hypothyroidism and NLD (nonverbal learning disability).

She inventories the drugs she was prescribed for her “depression”. The list includes 26 medications — including over 20 brand name antidepressants and mood stabilizers, many of them specifically FDA approved for things like epilepsy, but usually prescribed off label for depression and other psychiatric disorders.

This left me wondering how many people are misdiagnosed and overprescribed medication which has nothing to do with what is going on in their brains and bodies. Often, psychiatric medication is not accurately explained to patients together with crucial information regarding “tapering” with the help of a skilled specialist.

Later, the author worked as an emergency room technician. Her observations during her employment in ER are sharp and very interesting. She then worked in hospital billing and later for pharmaceutical companies, which helped her pay off her debts even as it drained her, mentally and physically.

“Cost of Living” is a grave indictment of an avaricious, dehumanizing healthcare system. Instead of being the focal point of the essay collection, Maloney’s personal health provides perspective when looking at the economics of the system.

The author narrated the audiobook and it was easy listening. As someone unfamiliar with the American healthcare system, I found “Cost of Living” engaging, informative and profoundly disturbing.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for the advanced audiobook.

This was an interesting, but ultimately not very memorable book. I read it a few weeks ago and already don't recall much about it. As is often the case with essay collections, I went into it expecting one thing based on the description but then found that it covered many other topics. I read it because I am interested in the affordable health care crisis in America, but I was less interested in the other topics discussed.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a very powerful read. Coming from a rural area where the nearest medical care is over 20 miles away and most people don't have insurance anyways, this was a very interesting read. would recommend and buy.

#CostOfLiving by #emilymaloney is a set of essays that truly opened my eyes and reminded me how entirely 🤬 our health care system is. From the corrupt structure of big pharma to the debt people go into after life saving procedures, Emily Maloney covers it all from both sides of the table — as a patient, medical research professional, and emergency responder.

I really enjoyed both the commentary and perspective this author has and found her so bravely honest and true to herself on a subject she didn’t have to make so personal. I really respect her for ~going there~ with these essays.

Thank you to henry holt for this finished copy and audiobook. This is one to read and never forget.

What a unique look inside the medical industry. Lots of food for thought as I’ve often wondered myself what is necessary when evaluating my options when sick. Essays always have a little ebb and flow and I have to say this flowed very well for the first 50% and then lost me a bit. I’ll still be recommending this and sharing with friends who are constantly dealing with ongoing medical bills.

Tuesday is pub day for Cost of Living and this collection of essays about healthcare in the US is oh, so good.

The author is brutally honest about her own experiences as a patient and caregiver. When Emily attempted suicide at nineteen, it sent her through a series of misdiagnoses, years in and out of hospitals and psychiatric care, and tens of thousands of dollars of debt. On the flip side and many years later, she chronicles her lucrative position writing for a pharmaceutical company.
I work in health care and found this to be so intriguing, but I would have enjoyed this regardless of my profession. It’s a frustrating, humorous, fascinating memoir.

This harrowing collection of essays highlights the sad state of the mental health care system and general health care system in the United States. Follow Ms Manoley through her struggle to keep her head above water as she's prescribed dozens of prescription medications to help her find "normal" from her school days through young married life. The appropriateness of the title becomes painfully aware every few chapter, like the erratic syncopated beat of a heart recovering from overdose from a prescribed medication you can barely afford. Raw and brutally honest. Cost of Living lays a young woman's scars bare for all listeners.

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

How much does it cost to live?
This book answers that question:
Everything you've got and then some.
But it is what you focus on that grows.

Emily Maloney's story certainly isn't a traditional one.
It is unique and begs the questions:

Why is the medical system set up
the way that it is?
Why are people charged to live?
Charged to have decent health?
And then charged even more if
they don't succeed in committing
suicide?

I liked that Maloney keeps the story moving. Although, I did have several unanswered questions. I liked the first half of the book more than the second. The second half focused on Maloney's work in the medical field. It tends to circle back and repeat itself.

I also preferred the audiobook to the physical. The reading was very clear with a good pace. This is full of medical talk, debt talk, and goes through Maloney's different interactions with people. Overall, it is interesting!

This being described as a cross between Girl, Interrupted and The Empathy Exams had me immediately wanting to read this. Maloney’s observations on living with mental illness in this country, and her stories of navigating the healthcare system, are heart-wrenching and visceral. She shares both personal experiences as a patient and those of patients she got to know through her various roles in the medical field. Each of them sheds a light on the ways in which our medical system takes a toll, physically, emotionally, and financially. For fans of The Beauty in the Breaking.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a free review copy. All opinions are my own.

I went into this audiobook with some preconceived ideas of what the author was going to describe. For some reason I wasn't expecting as much of the readings would deal with her role as a caregiver. I kept wanting some some of explanation or conclusion that explained her years of medication and that never came.

These essays were interesting--the author has a very unique experience with the healthcare system. I expected more introspection on the connection of her personal experiences to her professional, but found these observations to be quick and surface.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first 5 star review of 2022.

Just wow.

Listen, as an American you simply must read this contemporary essay collection.

Mandatory.

Read it; internalize it; grieve with it; laugh full-bellied HAHA’s with it; punch fists of ire into pillows over it; but most importantly LEARN from it and go forward with it in mind when you vote.

Pub Date: 8 Feb 2022

Thank you to @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for the advanced listen audiobook in exchange for an honest review 🙏

I received an advanced audiobook of Cost of Living: Essays by Emily Maloney. This is a book of essays detailing her medical experiences as a patient and also when she worked in the medical industry, It starts with her suicide attempt at age 19 and the medical debt that followed her. She then worked a variety of healthcare jobs to try to pay off that debt. I thought this was going to be more about what it costs to live, getting medical care in the United States but that was just a small part. She also talks of the excess in the pharmaceutical industry, spending money to advertise and hold conferences. I found her thoughts on chronic pain patients and how insurance creates a dependency on medications, rather than seeking out alternative therapies interesting and enlightening. Overall, I enjoyed this collection, even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I gave it 4 stars and would encourage anyone interested in medicine or disability to seek it out. She narrates the audiobook herself which I enjoy with nonfiction. The book will be published February 8th, 2022. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This was a very interesting read. Written by someone from both sides of medical debt (in it herself, but also working inside a hospital creating the debt), this is a powerful story of the inner workings of mental health. There was a large focus on medication that I was not anticipating, however overall an interesting read.

Emily Maloney shined a light upon the many issues within the medical field in Cost of Living. Between countless misdiagnoses and the small fortune it costs to survive, having any kind of illness in the US often creates more challenges than wellness.

I felt Maloney brought a nuanced perspective into this, given her experiences on both sides - needing care and working in the medical field. She doesn’t tell the reader what they should think about any of the information she shared. She simply presented it all in a matter-of-fact way that managed to pack a punch just as it is.

I listened to this on audio and would be interested in revisiting a physical copy at some point. While the dry humor didn’t always work for me, there were moments I did laugh out loud, and the essays were filled with intriguing information that further validated my own frustrations with the system. As someone who suffers from chronic illness and pain, I do understand how dramatically impossible the cost of living can be, and learning more about the other end of this further confirmed things my husband and I have discussed and believed. While Maloney doesn’t offer solutions (how could she?), she arms readers with knowledge and, perhaps, such knowledge will serve as ammunition for change one day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am immensely grateful to Macmillan Audio for my audio review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Cost of Living will be available in February 2022.

Real life stories of a hypochondriac with anxiety (wait is this me because I feel like she is SPEAKING) to me. This book was hilarious, heartbreaking and an amazing read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I don’t even know where to start with this one! These essays are so emotional and powerful, I cried at almost every single one.

I loved the parallels that Maloney draws between her time as a patient and as a healthcare provider. The way she tallies up her own bills while also tallying up what she’s costing her patients is truly heartbreaking, as I heard the numbers read aloud I just sat there in shock.

This book is a clear look into everything wrong with the American healthcare system. The issues of medical debts, of doctors who push drugs instead of looking for solutions, and even just of the hierarchy and disrespect common in the jobs in the industry. She manages to condemn the system while still respecting the people working hard in it everyday, doing their best with the bad framework they’ve been handed.

This is an exhilarating, exhausting read. Maloney’s personal story is heartbreaking on every level, and the stories of her patients only serve to add to that despair in some ways.

Cost of Living: Essays is an incredibly important book, look out for it in the new year.

A collection of short stories on Maloney's mental health-related and financial life, along with general anecdotes about the high cost of health care, I enjoyed it enough. I would not recommend Cost of Living over similar types of books, but the writing was good and the essays were interesting enough.