If there’s one thing we’ve come to know about Sally Rooney’s novels, it’s that they should be read with a box of tissues on hand. If you haven’t read Normal People, you’ve likely seen the series. At the height of lockdown, it was all anyone could talk about, our WhatsApp exchanges and social media feeds perpetually clogged by an incessant stream of stills, opinions, and memes about the series, which was the emotional equivalent of a detox: stressful, prone to bouts of heightened sensitivity, and requiring our utmost focus. But where the gaping void following Normal People came to live, it’s now been filled with Rooney’s latest adaptation, Conversations with Friends.
Based on Rooney’s first novel, the series follows Dublin student and aspiring writer Frances and her best friend (and ex-girlfriend) Bobbi, who befriend older married couple Melissa and Nick. With such a friendship group, it’s only natural that complicated feelings begin to arise and these have consequences for all involved.
Having since premiered on Amazon Prime, Australian viewers have been eating up every minute of the show, much like we did with Normal People. But in this instance, it’s not just the lively performances from the cast and the emotional toll such storytelling has on our own psyche that’s creating conversation online, but rather the portrayal of endometriosis in the show.
Endometriosis is a condition that affects more than one in 10 women in Australia at some point in their life. Despite being a global issue that can have serious ramifications for one’s life, it’s largely dismissed and misdiagnosed in the medical profession, with limited research and understanding surrounding the condition. As more women and people with a uterus come forward to share their struggle with endometriosis and the impact it has had on their livelihoods and mental health, conversations surrounding endometriosis have slowly begun to come out from the peripheries and enter the mainstream media.
Now, Conversations with Friends is also shining a spotlight on the issue and hoping to remove the stigma associated with it, in which women largely suffer in silence. In the series, which focuses on the affair between Frances and Nick, Frances also embarks on a health journey after being hospitalised for excruciating abdominal pain and heavy vaginal bleeding. At first, she thinks she might be miscarrying a baby, but doctors suggest something else is happening. It’s only later that Frances is diagnosed with endometriosis.
As Alison Oliver, who plays Frances in Conversations with Friends, explained to Marie Claire, showing the reality of endometriosis was deeply important to the cast and storytellers behind the series. “That was such a massive responsibility and it’s almost a whole other subplot along with everything that happens with the affair,” she said.
“We did a lot of research on it,” Oliver added, describing the great lengths she and the series’ co-directors Leanne Welham and Lenny Abrahamson went to in order to accurately reflect the condition on the screen. This involved interviews with doctors and medical professionals to better understand the illness, while Oliver also spoke to women who suffered from endometriosis, too. “It was important to not just get medical accounts, but also a personal account to make it authentic and real to what it would actually be like,” she said.
From speaking with others suffering from endometriosis, Oliver understood the complexity of the issue and was made more aware of the experience. “I think it’s really important to really let it be really painful [on screen] and not to shy away from how debilitating it can be – and to also portray the emotional effects of it. It totally effects your mood, your sense of self and your self worth.”
In the series, Frances realises that she can’t run from the illness and grapples with how to navigate endometriosis, as well as how to share her suffering with those closest to her. Rather than unpack the struggle with her best friend and ex-lover Bobbi, she keeps it hidden and internalises much of the pain, something that has a negative impact on her relationships and their dynamic.
“There’s a feeling of weight that stays in Frances until she addresses it and until she gets any kind of diagnosis, and I think just carrying that is a huge thing in itself, even if you’re going through lots of things in your own life. Endometriosis isn’t like, you get your period and you can move on, it’s in you all the time and it’s always bothering you – it’s unique for each person but that’s the case for her,” says Oliver.
In showcasing endometriosis and the impact it has on all aspects of life for those who suffer from the condition, Conversations with Friends hopes to spark wider conversations in the community – both the medical community and those beyond it, as we learn to recognise, acknowledge and learn more about the pain associated with endometriosis and how best to support sufferers.
