Ouch!

Why Pain Hurts, and Why it Doesn't Have To

By: Margee Kerr, Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Narrated by: Laila Pyne

Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Ouch! by Margee Kerr and Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, read by Laila Pyne.

Pain seems like a fairly straightforward experience - you get hurt and it, well, hurts. But how would you describe it? By the number of broken bones or stitches? By the cause - the crowning baby, the sharp knife, the straying lover? What does a seven on a pain scale of one to 10 really mean?

Pain is complicated. But most of the time, the way we treat pain is superficial - we seek out states of perfect painlessness by avoiding it at all costs, or suppressing it, usually with drugs. This has left us hurting all the more.

Through in-depth interviews, investigation into the history of pain and original research, Ouch! paints a new picture of pain as a complex and multi-layered phenomenon. Authors Margee Kerr and Linda McRobbie Rodriguez tell the stories of sufferers and survivors, courageous kids and their brave parents, athletes and artists, people who find healing and pleasure in pain, and scientists pushing the boundaries of pain research, to challenge the notion that all pain is bad and harmful. They reveal why who defines pain matters and how history, science and culture shape how we experience pain. Ouch! dismantles prevailing assumptions about pain and that not all pain is bad, not all pain should be avoided and, in the right context, pain can even feel good.

To build a healthier relationship with pain, we must understand how it works, how it is expressed and how we communicate and think about it. Once we understand how pain is made, we can remake it.

©2021 Margee Kerr and Linda Rodriguez McRobbie (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

What an interesting concept!!

Such an interesting topic! I love the writing, and was a great listen. I narrator wasn’t my favorite (she mispronounced a few words which always irritates me) but on the whole, very thought provoking!

Incredible book

I personally think that Margee Kerr has some of the most underrated books. After reading her previous book Scream, I knew I had to grab this book as well. This was my first introduction to her co-author, Linda, and they did an incredible job with this book. I mainly wanted to read this book because I’m a recovering opioid addict with 9 years clean, and I assumed it was going to just be about how we manage pain in the United States. Well, not only did it cover that, but it covered so much more. I don’t even have enough space in this brief review to discuss all of the topics that the authors dive into. They discuss physical vs emotional pain, alternative forms of pain management, the opioid epidemic, pain as a form of therapy, the psychology behind BDSM, and so much more. This is such a fantastic book, and these two are incredible writers, so I can’t recommend this book nearly enough.

Narrator was very distracting

I’ve never really noticed narrators one way or the other. But this narrator had such unnatural cadence and emphasis that it was painful to listen to. If you aren’t retested in this book, I suggest not listening to the audio, but reading the paper version.