Very well researched and informative. An enjoyable but heavy read coming to terms with the reality of our history as women and the current struggles we face when it comes to our reproductive freedom. Definitely recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about hysterectomy!

Get It Out is a well-researched and thoughtfully nuanced exploration of the historical and cultural context for hysterectomy.

Andrea Becker uses the lens of medical sociology to deep dive the experience of seeking and having hysterectomies in today’s day and age. She pulls from extensive interviews with cis women and trans and non-binary folks as well as several other sources of quantitative and qualitative data.

I really loved how many stories of trans and non-binary people are featured throughout this book. Becker does a nice job of thoughtfully interweaving their narratives and offering a nuanced perspective on the challenges inherent to those who aren’t cis-women.

For anyone curious about the politics, history, and sociocultural context for hysterectomies, this is a solid read. There are a number of folks in my life who have struggled with endometriosis/adenomyosis or otherwise have had complicated relationships with their uterus and reproductive functioning - I will 100% be recommending this book to them!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and appreciated how readable and compelling the prose was on a topic that could have otherwise felt dry and clinical. This is a compassionate, clear, and well-researched deep dive into a topic that more people ought to know about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher — I received an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Andréa Becker did a great job at the introduction looking into such a hard and complicated topic. Think this book leads us to a conversation we really need to have.

It’s really scary the judgement applied to this procedure when it’s not to save your life, when it’s “just” to help with your pain, etc (when no one would think like that towards going to the dentist to fill a cavity or get your wisdom teeth extracted for example) only because “you might want children one day” or even worse “have you thought about what your future husband will want??”, specially in a time when we can barely afford housing to begin with. I think medicine stopped only being a way to save people’s lives and started trying to improve the quality of life, and how this has not happened in the areas that only apply to women.

It’s crazy seeing the very different ways in which trans men and cis women were treated, how women’s pain it’s not seen as an important enough issue, even when it is completely ruining their lives.

It is also really interesting as a EU citizen seeing how the fully private and in a lot of cases highly inaccessible US medical system messes up with people’s heads.
Overall it vas really interesting and I really appreciate learning about all of the different perspectives, but all in all, it did feel a bit repetitive towards the end with how it talked about every single case that was studied.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the book.

I don't even know where to begin. This was easily one of the most insightful non-fiction reads I've ever consumed. I initially requested this book to gain more understanding and obtain "leverage" when preparing for my next medical appointment. However, I quickly found myself consumed by the stories shared and became angry at the medical system and it's continued abuse of women and the queer, non-binary, and trans communities. I was appalled to learn how these procedures and modern contraceptives came about and how they still affect these populations to this day, decades later. I was also disgusted to learn how often hysterectomies are recommended for people of color before more conservative methods are explored. I would highly recommend this to anyone with or without a uterus, who does or does not want a hysterectomy (or any associated surgery), or anyone interested in this area of public health. If I weren't so bad at math, I would consider getting my MPH to make a change in this area of women's health. As someone who wants this procedure to not only solve some medical issues, but also as a response to today's political climate, this was a must-read. I have not changed my stance on wanting this procedure, but I now have the knowledge to make more informed choices based on the stories and information shared. Overall, this is a very quick and easy-to-understand read that is essential to today's public health needs.

While this was a very informative and interesting read, I found myself feeling slightly annoyed at the mixing of genders and anatomical parts.
As a supporter of the LGTBQI community I understand that that not all females have female parts but I felt that the book should have focused more on body autonomy rather than minorities getting represented.

An incisive and informative look into a topic that is under dicussed and under researched. The first half is a little dense as facts are thrown out without much time given for reflection and absorption, I was, however, completely blown away by the second half.

Becker's writing as she weaves the stories of her subjects is taken with such care. By turns illuminating and heart wrenching. And she has taken great care to include the voices of BIPOC and Trans peoples. Some truly beautiful work and well worth the read, whether you own a uterus or not.

I think this book was just a bit different than I was expecting. It very much reads like a medical journal or long-form academic article. It's pretty dry in places, even if the information is well-researched. I did find all of her points to be interesting and thought-provoking, and her ability to remain unbiased was impressive. However, the introduction makes up a large part of the book, and it drags on. It also served to make the book much more repetitive, since much of the info discussed later on in the book had already been referenced in the beginning. I also don't think it's necessary to outline what every section is going to cover; this just added to the repetition. Overall, this is an incredibly important topic, but it might have been better as an article or represented as a more academic-style book.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
I was excited to read this book. I was looking fke something that is informative. But this was disappointing. It speaks a lot on tbe Trans and may community who wans a hysterectomy ... just very disappointing.

This isn't a book I would usually pick to read but I'm currently going thru this process now with my doctors. I wanted to get some more background I could use to discuss with them and this book was a good way to do that for me. The author goes into stories, facts and the politics of wanting a hysterectomy. It was laid out in an easy-to-read format for someone who wouldn't normally read these kinds of books. I found it informative and I'm glad to know that there are others that are having the same battle as myself. I would definitely recommend this book if you were thinking of having a hysterectomy.

Overall this was a very interesting and informative read. I really appreciated that the author spent time discussing hysterectomies in several contexts and broadening the discussion to include trans and non-white perspectives. This highlighted the inequity and double standard in health care based on race, gender, etc. Intersectionality is not always covered in books on medical history, and it is refreshing that the author put it at the forefront.

The book really took off after the first part, when first-hand accounts were brought into the narrative. The personal stories were incredibly insightful and were well-chosen to give a broad perspective. It's amazing that the inconsistencies in health care are allowed to persist in today's world. The framing of women's health almost solely on reproductive capacity, and ignoring it in almost every other context, is appalling.

A few (small) criticisms... there was a lot of repetition in the book, and I'm not sure if it is by design or due to lax editing. Also, one group of people NOT covered was women seeking hysterectomies for reasons other than treatment of a medical condition or for reasons related to gender identity. There are certainly women who do not have chronic pain/illness who seek hysterectomies as a method of birth control, because they know they never want children, or just to exercise control or agency over their own bodies. Those voices are absent.

Very well structured and written with different point of views, historical documentation, evidence, and political subplots. Very educational and a very quick read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Becker’s approach to writing about hysterectomy in this book. Though I am a UK historian of reproduction and the text was US-focused, it provided a really important insight into people’s experiences of hysterectomy. I particularly valued the trans and queer inclusion embedded in the foundations of this book - almost half of the hundred interviewees were trans or nonbinary, and there is significant discussion of the interplay between fertility and gender. As a historian, I would have loved more historical context, as the discussion at the start was brief, but I understand that is not the purpose of the book, and due mention was given to key figures in the field such as Alexandra Minna Stern. This book draws vital connections between biomedical approaches to health, the idea of technological and convenient solutions, and the ongoing ‘mystery’ (through lack of research) of conditions of the uterus. I have no doubt this will become a core text in teaching reproductive aspects of medical humanities and social sciences.

I was interested in the subject as I will have the procedure done in a few months.
The book is more into the political aspect of women's reproductive health from the United States. Though I can of course sympathize with each of the women's testimonies, I was hoping for a more global point of view.

Get It Out was a very introspective and important read on the history of hysterectomy restrictions. It was quite introspective, and I thought that the information was presented well and in a very consumable way. However, with that being said, this book reads somewhat like a very long college essay. The entire introduction spent a very long time just discussing what the book would later discuss. Furthermore, the sample group was primarily white- I was hoping for more diversity from a non-fiction work that strives on gender diversity/ inclusivity. 3/5 rating. Thank you, netgalley, for the ARC!

This was okay. I guess I thought I'd learn something new, but it was basically just a summary of things I already knew.

I wish this book went a little more in depth and had more of a balance in the race of people interviewed. The majority of the sample was white (as per the chart at the end of the book) and I feel like it's a disservice to have such a small POC sample size when it's even mentioned in the book how POC women are disproportionally affected.

I think the project and intent behind this book was good, I was just hoping for something a little more.

This was a really solid read. I did my masters thesis on IUDs and reproductive health and I often feel like I've read everything there is to read on the subject; it was refreshing to discover something new and different for the general public. I love that these kinds of books and the conversations they encourage are becoming more mainstream.

Hysterectomies are still so taboo, so it was great that Becker opened the book by explaining their origin story and their importance in the landscape of female health and women's liberation. The attention she gave to diverse storites - to women of colour, to trans people - was impressive as women-centered books tend to face criticism for being too singularly focused on white cis women. The five subsequent chapters take you through the step by step process of getting a hysterectomy, and I loved her focus on ethnographic data because it underscores just how personal reproductive health is, person to person.

Overall, a really strong book, and I'm glad it's being published - especially given the current US political climate.

Get It Out is a provocative deep dive into hysterectomy stories and desires of people in the US and Canada. Integrating medical history and political history to understand how race, gender, and class impact gynecological experiences. Everyone with a uterus and in the medical field will learn something.

The prose is accessible but has a lot of depth which is not alway achieved in books like this. I am in awe of the amount of research and care that went into the nuanced telling of these stories.

5/5 <3

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Get It Out is a captivating and insightful non-fiction book that tackles the complex subject of hysterectomies. What sets this book apart is not only its in-depth exploration of a medical procedure that is often shrouded in stigma but also its powerful focus on inclusivity and personal stories.

This reads like a long college essay. With the points on accessibility in different cultures and medical backgrounds, one would think this would be more easily accessible in way of reading. Really it's just a lot of long sentences repeating the same information a few times over. It's not hard words, just very very dense. I feel like I'm studying for a health history class rather than learning and reflecting on something for personal gain. All this in addition to the introduction been 17% of the book, which went into heavy detail on what each chapter would be about and how the book would conclude itself. Can we just get to the chapters already?