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Product Description
Charlie is fierce; she is quite the fireball. Charlie is a woman – in beauty, in essence, in strength, in grace. Charlie is justice-minded; she will be heard. Charlie is a lover, a caretaker, a giver, an advocate, and an impeccable listener. Charlie is sick. Charlie is poor. Charlie has no family. To American society, Charlie has no identity. In a country where the “haves” versus the “have-nots” is an endless war, where she is virtually ignored and discarded by society as merely another person who does not contribute to the growth of the economy, the multifaceted girl from England determines to solidify her place as a woman not to be denied, but one of virtue and worthy of acknowledgement. Using her God-given gifts and skills, Charlie maneuvers her way through the American healthcare system with boldness and cleverness; she will not be ignored. Some of her fervor for justice comes from her appreciation of all humankind just because they are simply people…trying to make it…along different and unique, but interesting paths. Lots of it comes from bonding with others who face poverty. Most of her fervor for justice, however, comes from her firmly rooted placement in the healthcare system; for at the age of 16, Charlie was diagnosed with a life-altering lung and digestive condition, one that would seek to claim her life, one that caused medieval women to question whether their “child was cursed and would soon die.” Written from a social work perspective, this book explores Charlie’s struggle with the ruthless illness, while battling the healthcare system, and by extension, the people who construct and perpetuate paradigms that influence inequitable healthcare practices. For many, Charlie is another nameless face entangled in the merciless web of the American healthcare system. For those who knew her best, she is wonder, passion, and mystique personified; her fingerprints, though invisible to society, penetrate the hearts of those she pierced.
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