"The author's knowledge of the population she addresses is evident on every page and in every description, as is her grasp of the complexity of issues surrounding the women whose pain she describes. . . . Life's lesions, a concept that Finkler introduces, is an intriguing symbol of how the wounds inflicted on people (in this case, women) during their lives become expressed in physical manifestations of ill health. . . . We can appreciate this book for its many insights and valuable contribution of life's lesions in understanding health and illness."

Kaja Finkler is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.