Bedside Reading
A medical humanities podcast where we explore themes from fiction, memoir and other non traditional non-textbooks which help to make us better at what we do.
Hosted by Dr Tara George, a GP and medical educator, in each episode a different guest explores a book that has changed their practice. Follow us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bedsidereading.bsky.social Facebook or Instagram @bedsidereadingpodcast. If you'd like to recommend a book or to come on the podcast as a guest please email: bedsidereadingpodcast@gmail.com. Episodes hosted by Tara George, edited by Levi Gee
Bedside Reading
Overspill
I'm delighted to welcome Hannah Loret to Bedside Reading today to talk about Overspill by Charlotte Paradise. This is a really gripping, absolutely brilliant novel.
The blurb: Sara is 25. She's never used a tampon without having a panic attack. She starts dating Miles. Three months, they don't touch. Miles respects her boundaries, though he longs for them to melt away. Sara desires Miles, but she knows her body, or rather she knows it is an unknowable thing. Sara wants to be in love, to find a person who allows her to be herself, someone who's happy with everything she is and everything she isn't. Miles hopes he won't hurt her. But how do you navigate a relationship for which there is need? How do you love someone when your body is not your own, and how do you reclaim it?
This is an absolutely brilliant novel. It has got a narrative around vaginismus and sexual pain, vaginal pain at its heart but there's a lot more to it than that. And there are some fantastic characters, some really interesting evolutions of relationships. I couldn't put it down and I think it's a book that I'm going to think about for a really long time.