Nearly half a million people in the Netherlands miss parties, dinners, important work assignments, and career opportunities because they are sitting at home, suffering from severe abdominal pain. Wait, sitting? More like lying down. In the fetal position.

Author and journalist Maartje van Hoek knows all about it. With severe symptoms, she visits the doctor as a teenager. Twenty-six years follow, with dozens of ultrasounds, scans, and vaginal examinations by three general practitioners and seven gynecologists – always without results. Until she ends up in the Emergency Department, undergoes immediate surgery, and receives a diagnosis: she has endometriosis.

Endo-what? Endometriosis is a silent destroyer of future dreams, self-images, desires for children, and love relationships. This chronic disease can cause extreme symptoms and infertility. Yet, almost no one is aware of it. Why this is the case, what the disease entails, and how to manage it is all explained in this book.