"Strange Bedfellows—a book about how infections and viruses spread—is incredibly relevant to our time. But it is so much more than that: it’s about desire, it’s about history, it’s about humanity itself. Ina Park reveals the mystery and fascination inherent in STDs and, improbably, she does it while being laugh-out-loud funny."
—Peggy Orenstein, author of the New York Times bestsellers Boys and Sex and Girls and Sex
"Ina Park is a seasoned expert with a finely calibrated sense of the absurd. In other words, she is exactly who you want writing a book about STDs. The science is here, but so too are the stories and people behind it. Park has a mission—to break down the stigma and clear the way for open conversation and wider funding. She's a hero and a hoot!"
—Mary Roach, author of the New York Times bestsellers Bonk and Stiff
"Dr. Ina Park’s passion for her subject is contagious. With gripping stories and the right dose of wit, Strange Bedfellows uncovers the wily world of microbes and reveals the shocking history of sexually transmitted diseases. Plus, Dr. Park is funny. You’ll LOL as she ventures into topics most of us consider TMI. She answers every question you ever had about infections down there and even those you never thought to ask."
—Randi Hutter Epstein MD, MPH, author of Aroused
"With wisdom and wit, passion and dispassion, Park uses case narratives and deep clinical knowledge to inform her readers of the importance of sexually transmitted infections. Rescuing these infections from silence and stigma, she offers clear and effective approaches to prevention and treatment for patients and the public."
—Allan M. Brandt, Kass Professor of the History of Medicine at Harvard University and author of No Magic Bullet
"Strange Bedfellows is so much more than a fresh take on the biggest issues of 2021. It’s joyful and funny . . . Great writing about sex meets readers where they are, and it invites them through the door of evidence-based sex education, into a world where shame simply can’t exist. Park uses science, compassion, humor, diverse stories, and examples of her own shame-free living to take the stigma out of these infections."
—The New York Times
"Fans of witty, meticulously researched chronicles of intriguing popular science topics—think Mary Roach—will devour this fluid mixture of scholarship and levity. A fresh, funny, sex-positive book that effectively destigmatizes sexual disease."
—Kirkus, starred review
"Informative and frank, Park’s account of sex and STDs is ideal both for the curious and for those too embarrassed to ask."
—Publishers Weekly
"A thoughtful, informative account for readers interested in public health and sexual health as well as those with an interest in the history of medicine. Park brings the right amount of care to an often-stigmatized subject."
—Library Journal
"Through intriguing anecdotes, [Park] covers the science behind the treatment and prevention of STIs."
—Scientific American
"Park is a woman with a mission: to destigmatise STIs, while engaging her readers through the fascinating stories she has heard or experienced first-hand during her career, together with her inimitable sense of humour . . . The humour and charm of Strange Bedfellows will surely help to break the cone of awkward silence and shame surrounding the topic among its readers, providing a seemingly unending array of interesting conversation starters for those brave enough to take the first step."
—Lancet
"From HPV (human papillomavirus) to syphilis to HIV to homely old genital herpes, [Strange Bedfellows] probes into every cranny of its many subjects, and Park writes about all of it with a commonizing touch that’s wonderfully inviting."
—Open Letters Review
01/01/2021
MD Park creates an engrossing, fun, and frank discussion of the science and history behind sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and calls for us to have sex safely. Through Park's engaging writing, readers are brought into a scientific arena filled with safe-sex proponents, women's reproductive rights advocates, and LBGTQ+ and anti-racist allies, all seeking to overturn centuries of systemic discrimination inherent in sexual and reproductive health sciences. The strength of this book lies in Park's presentation of personal stories and the removal of the morality often tied to the topic of STDs, or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as they are sometimes known. She shares insight from her years of working at an STI clinic, and how the stigma of sex and disease impacts people of differing races, ages, and backgrounds. With sensitivity, she also addresses the history of diseases among people who are currently in jail or prison. Park further offers details on the history of the condom and the current research being done on vaccines for STDs. VERDICT A thoughtful, informative account for readers interested in public health and sexual health as well as those with an interest in the history of medicine. Park brings the right amount of care to an often-stigmatized subject.—Rachel M. Minkin, Michigan State Univ. Libs., East Lansing
★ 2020-10-05
A guided tour through the science of sexually transmitted infections.
Park, a physician who specializes in STIs, begins with an explanation of terminology. “The subtitle…uses STD, as I felt that term would be most recognizable….But I use STI as much as I can throughout the book, because that is where I think we are headed eventually.” Within this alternatingly fascinating, perplexing, and stomach-turning report, the author nonjudgmentally illustrates how STIs are one of the unfortunate forms of “interplay between sex and society as far back as the 1500s.” She begins with genital herpes, a “sneaky” virus that hides in nerve cells and reemerges as a recurrent “unwelcome guest.” A research conference in Brazil is the perfect setting for Park’s meditation on the pros and cons of “pubic landscaping” while a scientific glance at vaginal microbiomes reveals the vulnerability of women to undesirable bacterial compositions. The author never glosses over a topic; each chapter is a thoughtful combination of scientific study and informative anecdote. Park’s exuberance is obvious throughout, whether she is discussing how orgasmic meditation can mitigate the risks of STI contraction from sexual activity with multiple partners or the University of Washington’s “two-week-long boot camp on STIs and HIV.” Via lively, creative efforts to diffuse the lingering stigma surrounding genital warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, and other maladies, Park generously shares her knowledge and clinical experience, some of which is quite sobering—e.g., the possible connection between HPV and anal cancer and the more recent proliferation of terrifying antibiotic-resistant “superbug” STIs. The author also demystifies a variety of relevant issues, including HIV prevention and “female condoms,” weaving in knowledgeable input from public health experts, vaccine researchers, focus groups, and even a network of contact-tracing “sex detectives.” Fans of witty, meticulously researched chronicles of intriguing popular science topics—think Mary Roach—will devour this fluid mixture of scholarship and levity.
A fresh, funny, sex-positive book that effectively destigmatizes sexual disease.