“It dares you be nosy, to eavesdrop and listen in to a stoic young woman whom no one noticed until she began to disappear – a burning triumph.” – Paul Beatty, Man Booker Prize 2016 “Karen Havelin writes with astounding sensitivity and grace of the vulnerability of the body, that abject and essential container within which we live our entire lives. Havelin’s debut is a revelation.” – Alexandra Kleeman, You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine Karen Havelin’s Please Read This Leaflet Carefully is a life told in reverse and a subversion of what we expect from stories of illness. Having been diagnosed with endometriosis in her twenties, we follow Laura Fjellstad in her struggle to live a normal life across New York, Paris and Oslo, fuelled by her belief that to survive her chronic illness she must be completely self-reliant. Flowing backwards from 2016 to 1995, we meet Laura’s younger selves: her healthier selves. Laura as a daughter, a figure skater, a lover, and a mother—finally leading a ...