Autoimmunity and the Good Girls: How Permission to Put Ourselves First Has the Power to Keep Us Well

"This illuminating volume will liberate many women from self-suppression and its frequent consequence, physical illness."— Gabor Maté M.D. New York Times bestselling author of The Myth of Normal

Foreword by Dr. Richard Carmona MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the United States

The inspirational, deeply researched wellness journey by the award-winning filmmaker, activist, and founder of Women Rising, shining a light on how too many girls are trained to self-silence and serve others—and how we can heal.

For generations, women have been told to be “good”—to put others first, to silence their own voices, to neglect their own needs. But a new groundswell of evidence reveals the cost: when our lives are compromised, so are our immune systems.

Raised in a big Texas-Lebanese family as the eldest and only daughter, Sara Hirsh Bordo grew up caring for everyone else’s needs at the expense of her own. Later, as an acclaimed director lifting up other women’s stories, she watched her own body collapse under the weight of autoimmune disease and cancer. Only when she finally reclaimed sovereignty over her own voice, did she heal.

Determined to understand this link, Sara funded the first quantitative research at the intersection of female empowerment and autoimmunity. The results were groundbreaking: women raised in caretaker roles—especially eldest daughters—are disproportionately likely to develop autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s, lupus, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more. This study, endorsed by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, garnered national media attention and has been shared across 20 countries.

In these pages, you will find:

• How compromised girlhood identities create compromised immune systems in womanhood—and how to rewrite your story.
• Impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on autoimmunity and poor health.
• Stunning findings from her research, such as more than 6 in 10 women with autoimmune diseases were raised as the oldest or only daughter in their families
• What radically changes in health when authenticity, environment, and self-permission finally align.
• Inner girlhood work, including re-mothering through modern and mystical feminine archetypes.
• How to unlearn your primary role as a caregiver and practical guides for evolving from “good” to “real” at any age.

Weaving together memoir, exclusive expert interviews, evidence-based findings, and women’s personal stories, Autoimmunity and the Good Girls is a rousing testament to the missing modality in women’s health— sovereign self-permission to speak up, to transform, and heal.