My Body and Other Crumbling Empires

Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick

By: Lyndsey Medford

Narrated by: Emily Ellet

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

As a writer, activist, and theology student, Lyndsey Medford was used to critiquing unsustainable medical, environmental, economic, and social systems from a theoretical perspective. But when her autoimmune disorder roared out of remission, she discovered that her own body's systems lived at the very real vortex of all those systems' dysfunction.

Learning to cooperate with her body would require her to change every aspect of her life—and in the process, to seek a radical reimagining of the world, from a place where sickness is an individual affliction to an interdependent ecosystem where sustainability is a community way of life. In this beautiful and inspiring book, Medford draws on her experiences with a rare autoimmune disease to illuminate the broader lessons we need to learn, in order to heal what ails us individually and communally. Whether our burnout stems from illness, systemic racism, poverty, or simply sin's separation, we're all in need of hope, and we are called to heal together.

My Body and Other Crumbling Empires points out the beauty and ubiquity of our limitations; the importance of accessibility, broadly construed; the interconnected nature of individual and public health; and the badly needed wisdom we have gained from living with our particular bodies.

©2023 Lyndsey Medford (P)2023 eChristian

Great info and so validating

This book is a solid blend of the author sharing her experiences and commenting on problematic societal structures (without getting too far into it). Even though my condition is very different from hers, it was validating to hear her articulate the challenges and feelings she faced that I had also, but maybe wasn’t able to put words to yet. Her examination of the healthcare system and other structures also helped me make sense of, and feel better about my own employment situation. There is a lot of connection to Jesus and the Bible, and I am not only not religious, but also very skeptical of white Christian women and how many of them have weapon used Christianity in the US against other women. Still, I didn’t mind these parts of the book at all. The author is social justice-minded, aware of her privilege, and if every Christian viewed Jesus they way she does, the world would be such a lovely place. I am so grateful for this book, and will probably listen to it again since I went through it so quickly and will likely forget parts.