A Terrible Strength

“Unflinching. In a world where we’ve been forced to interpret our own health through the darkest veils, Dr. Kemi Doll peels them back with courage and clarity. Not only is this book the necessary indictment against white-dominated medical systems that have used, discarded, and neglected Black bodies across time, but it also delivers an invitation—to reclaim and reimagine truer methods of protection and care for the Black womb. Dr. Doll is sounding an alarm. We can’t afford not to hear it.”—Cole Arthur Riley, New York Times bestselling author of Black Liturgies

“Dr. Kemi Doll writes with the clarity of a scientist and the soul of a healer. Every chapter cuts deep and builds hope. This is ‘womb wisdom’ we all need.”—Sharon Malone, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Grown Woman Talk

“Meticulously researched yet deeply accessible, A Terrible Strength is both a reckoning and a road map. Dr. Kemi Doll exposes how many gynecologic conditions disproportionately harm Black women, as well as the systemic neglect, bias, and silence within medicine. Blending evidence, reflection, and reclamation, this book is essential reading for all women seeking to understand their health, their care, and the systems and inequalities that govern both.”—Dr. Jen Gunter, New York Times bestselling author of The Menopause Manifesto

“Dr. Kemi Doll exposes how women are taught to normalize pain and delay care until it’s too late. Drawing from the devastating disparities faced by Black women, she shows how a system designed without women’s full humanity harms everyone it touches. This book gives you the language and confidence to demand better care. It is essential reading for anyone who’s ever been dismissed by a doctor, which is most of us.”—Myleik Teele, entrepreneur and life + career strategist

Dr. Kemi Doll is a physician, surgeon, advocate, career coach, and a double-board certified gynecologic oncologist and uterine cancer scientist. She is a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and an adjunct professor in the department of health systems and population health at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

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