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Meghan O’Rourke—the author of The Long Goodbye and the poetry collections Sun in Days, Once, and Halflife—spent a decade researching “invisible” illnesses such as Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and endometriosis. In The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness, she shares what she learned about living with conditions no one can see and fighting for symptoms to be taken seriously. The book, which blends research with her own experiences, emphasizes that the people most likely to be let down by their health-care systems are women, the working class, and people of color. O’Rourke writes with empathy and compassion that will help those with chronic illness feel seen. —Angela Haupt

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