The Elusive Body, by Alexandra Sifferlin (Viking). Each year, around twelve million people in the U.S. experience a medical diagnostic error; some three million live with diseases that remain undiagnosed even after exhaustive medical investigation. Sifferlin’s book examines the roots of this situation, and explores avenues for addressing it. Though some methods—such as improving physician training—seem within reach, American health care is beset by structures that are inimical to constructive change. Insurance companies may refuse coverage for diseases that are not easily categorizable, for example, and in 2025 the federal government froze funding to Harvard, which has played a central role in the study of undiagnosed illness.
Leaving Home, by Mark Haddon (Doubleday). Haddon, the author of celebrated books for both adults and children, including “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” announces at the outset that this memoir is “An Exorcism” of his difficult childhood. “I grew up on a diet of Carry On films, Benny Hill, my parents’ misogyny and the Daily Telegraph,” he recalls. He also endured bouts of severe anxiety and depression. The grimness of Haddon’s material is made palatable by his humor and sharp observations, as well as by dozens of photographs and illustrations (many drawn by Haddon himself). Literature, marriage, fatherhood, and working with disabled people ultimately helped Haddon find solace and stability. Home, he realizes, is sometimes “a place you have to discover or construct.”