I found this book an great read and was extremely well written. The author's approach to discussing race and racism in relation to health and wellbeing was incredibly insightful and well-articulated. Unlike other books on race which are often more general, this one delved into the intricate connections between racism and health, offering a detailed exploration that I found to be quite compelling.

One chapter that particularly stood out to me was the one on environmental racism. It shed light on the profound impact of not only experiencing racism but also living under the constant threat of it on one's everyday life and overall health. If your body is constantly in fight or flight due to the threat of racism it is obvious going to have a detrimental affect on health and wellbeing.

While I did notice some generalisations in the text and some scientific studies used as examples have relatively small participant numbers, I appreciated the book's strong scientific foundation. The extensive bibliography also made it easy for me to delve deeper into the referenced studies.

The book also brought to my attention the issue of racial bias in medicine, illustrating how medical professionals often only encounter examples of conditions on lighter white skin. This systemic bias hinders the recognition and treatment of conditions in individuals with different skin tones, which was a perspective I hadn't fully considered before.

The author also emphasised the critical importance of data in addressing discrimination. This resonated with me, as I encounter similar challenges with data in my professional life. The book highlighted how the absence of accurate data not only hinders efforts to address discrimination but also affects various aspects of intersectionality. I was particularly struck by the discussion of the sensitive nature of medical data collection in some European countries, such as Germany, due to historical fears and valid concerns about privacy and misuse.

At times I did find that the book could be a little repetitive but overall, I thought it was, thoughtfully structured, and truly eye-opening for those who may not have firsthand experience with racism.

This book discussed the racial and ethnic health disparities in different countries. It looked at the link between racism and health harms,both systemic and interpersonal forms. Saying they both exist within medicine and health care.
I really liked the way the book discussed the research and gave people's relatable lived experiences throughout. It certainly made me think more deeply of my own experience with health care.

Having read Medical apartheid I was naturally drawn to Systemic by Layal Liverpool. Once again I was somewhat shocked by her challenging evidence which only served to highlight the systemic racism that still exists in diagnosis and medical treatment between races. I found the book accessible and easy to manage for the lay reader as well as those trained in the profession.

The continual stereotypical approach when dealing with black people and people of colour during COVID was particularly enlightening. For me it put a lot of doubts and questions into perspective. Liverpool does a great job in addressing this up to date event that shook the nation by demonstrating just how POC were treated as if their socio-economic situations played no part. For that I thank her.

The stories of those around the world proved also interesting and some of the cases resonated with me and I suspect this will be the case for many once the book is published.
Maybe some day the healthcare will be truly equal without prejudice.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this- highly recommend

Systemic is a nonfiction book by Layal Liverpool on Systemic racism and how racism in healthcare impacts black people and ethnic minorities. I would recommend this for readers of Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa and Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington. Systemic is very up to date with statistics and information on COVID-19 and how racism impacted the pandemic. Liverpool has clearly done their research because this had real life perspectives of how people have been impacted by systematic racism and it even had celebrity examples like Serena Williams. If you are interested in this topic I think this is a great place to start. I am giving this 4 stars and the only reason it is not a 5 is because it wasn’t the most engaging but that’s my own personal issue. I definitely recommend this book and it is an important read.