Wormhole

A groundbreaking, deeply researched and big-scope non-fiction examination of alternative therapies, conspiracy theories and medical misogyny with a tragic personal story at its heart – the death of a young woman.

Lauren went down the alternative medicine wormhole. Two years after her tragic death, her cousin resolved to examine what happened.

In October 2022, Lauren – an Australian woman in her mid-thirties – left for Malaysia to undergo an alternative medical treatment for chronic Lyme disease. She never returned.

Haunted by her cousin's death, writer Hannah McElhinney retraces Lauren's descent into the alternative medicine wormhole to investigate how she got there, and how easy it may be for others to do the same.

Amid society's growing mistrust of the medical establishment, McElhinney argues it is women, marginalised communities and those with chronic health conditions whose pain and suffering is more frequently dismissed in clinics and ignored in research.

And when that's the case, why is it so crazy to get a second opinion? Or a third? Or as many opinions as it takes until someone says 'I know exactly what's wrong with you, and I may have a cure'?

Both a deeply personal account and a wide-ranging exploration of medical misogyny, wellness culture and misinformation, Wormhole is an urgent and empathetic addition to the conversation about the future of health, wellness and modern medicine.