Incredible Women: Chronic Pain and Disbelief Across History, Society, Theology

This book explores the ‘gender pain gap’—the systemic disparities in how women’s chronic pain and illness are perceived, believed, and treated. Focusing especially on conditions without visible markers, Eilidh Galbraith examines why women’s pain remains socially, culturally, and theologically problematic. This book explores the ‘gender pain gap’—the systemic disparities in how women’s chronic pain and illness are perceived, believed, and treated. Focusing especially on conditions without visible markers, Eilidh Galbraith examines why women’s pain remains socially, culturally, and theologically problematic. Through interdisciplinary analysis and qualitative storytelling, she investigates how power dynamics shape medical responses and influence women’s credibility as narrators of their own suffering. Drawing on feminist theology, trauma studies, and health research, Galbraith weaves together her own experiences with those of other women to reveal how silence and disbelief impact health outcomes and identity. This deeply personal study challenges dominant narratives and calls for a more compassionate, justice-oriented approach to women’s pain.