Book Review of
The Invisible Kingdom

Lynn's Review

The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke is a memoir published in 2022.

The Invisible Kingdom is Meghan O’Rourke’s memoir of living with chronic and invisible illnesses.  

Meghan O’Rourke has spent years trying to figure out why her health was declining. She went to doctor after doctor, and had test after test done, to only see her quality of life continue to decline. In Invisible Kingdom, she shares her story of the years it took to be diagnosed with Lyme disease, EDS, and POTS. 

Meghan O’Rourke is an author, poet, and editor, and it comes out in her story. She shares an honest but well-researched look into living with multiple chronic illnesses. 

She did a good job of sharing her journey of blending a more natural approach to medicine with conventional medicine and how they can work together. She did it in a way that was honest and raw. 

She shared how her desperation led her to try things she otherwise wouldn’t, and how sometimes it helped and sometimes it was a total waste of time and money. 

She also shared how, as a kid, she had lots of small things wrong that were a sign of chronic illness to come in her adult years. 

This book won’t be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I recently admitted that I enjoy medical memoirs, but this one hit a little closer to home because my health struggles are similar to hers, although I have never had Lyme disease. 

If you have a chronic illness, especially Lyme disease, POTS, or EDS, I think you might find reading this book helpful.

Sometimes, though, when I read a book published in the last few years, it is obvious it was published in 2020-2025. I wonder what we will be saying in 20 years about certain things said in books.

In this book, the phrase was “people who were assigned male/female at birth.” It was used only once or twice in the book, but I wish it hadn’t been used at all. You are not assigned a gender at birth; you are born a gender, and that is what you are. Yes, I may lose a few readers for saying that, but I needed to say it for the readers who, like me, will wish it hadn’t been put in the book.