Lucid and impressive . . . Systemic is a challenge to the way race has been posited as an explanatory full stop rather than an opening to rigorous scientific inquiry into the root causes of inequality. Liverpool pushes back against the lazy thinking that allows this. The result is a bracing, informative read that illuminates the grim social reality of racism and its effects

Observer

This book is outstanding in many ways . . . Liverpool draws from her own lived experiences, extensive scholarship and entrenched practices, as well as from many first-hand accounts from her family, researchers, clinicians, patients, policymakers, community members and activists . . . A wide-ranging, inquisitive book about health care and society – and ultimately a call for change

Nature

Layal Liverpool has produced a work of towering importance that will undoubtedly change science and save lives, but it will also change the way you see yourself and the people around you. Systemic is beautifully written and scholarly but perhaps almost uniquely for such a book it is deeply personal and accessible, packed with compelling stories and fascinating details which are harnessed to make an impassioned argument for a better world

Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People

A groundbreaking, brilliantly argued book that debunks the myth that illness is the great equaliser. With a strong foundation in science and biology, Layal Liverpool unequivocally proves that addressing bias in medicine and data gaps in research will lead to a healthier and more equal world

Siddhartha Mukherjee, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies, The Gene and The Song of the Cell

Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Ill is a poignant and timely work that intimately captures the authentic narratives of individuals. Layal's writing doesn't shy away from acknowledging the pain of systemic racism in healthcare but, much like my own experience shared in the book, transforms adversity into a catalyst for positive change. As a survivor of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, I feel deeply honoured by Layal's thoughtful approach, giving voice not only to my journey but also to the countless unspoken survivors and victims. May this transformative narrative pave the way for lasting change

Kanayo Dike-Oduah

Across a global canvas Layal Liverpool deploys deep compassion, gut-wrenching testimony and peerless scientific journalism to show how racism lives and kills. But then she guides us to a revelation: once we know the truth of racism, it's possible to chart a way to a health system in which anti-racism is medicine. It's a prescription that everyone needs

Raj Patel, co-author of Inflamed