There's a Cure For This
Espiner, Emma
From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir.
Encompassing whanau, love, death, '90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There's a cure for this is Espiner's own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a 'purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals' to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Maori medical student and junior doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Clear, irreverent and beautiful, this book offers a candid and moving examination of what it means to be human when it seems like nothing less than superhuman will do. [Taken from book cover, Penguin Random House]
Comments from BDS Reviewers
"I have learnt a lot from this book - as many other Pakeha will also learn. It is earnest and factual and spiced with humour and some potent expressions."
"The language is on the whole very good. The 'f' word gets used quite a bit - descriptively - but it makes her story very real."
"This book dealt with really serious topics very well. It's well-written, adult, wise and enjoyable."
"This book is a treasury of one young Māori woman's 'encroachment' into the very Pakeha world of medicine and the less-than-conscious way that the medical world exhibits a superiority so natural that it passes unnoticed to non-Māori."
"I enjoyed reading that the author's Pakeha mother supported Emma in learning te reo Māori, just as Emma's husband (Guyon Espiner) learned te reo to support their daughter."
"The book presents a clear portrayal of past and current issues for her as a Māori and of the health system, especially during Covid."
"I found the style quite confrontational about race."
181
2023