The cost of comfort in public health communication
Read my New York Times essay, the Wall Street Journal's review, and enter the giveaway before it ends on Friday
Exciting news—my new book, Crisis Averted, is out this TUESDAY! Things are really picking up.
NYTimes: Today, I have an essay in the New York Times, adapted from the book, in which I argue that public health must prioritize telling the full truth—even when it's nuanced, troubling, or uncertain. Too often, the prevailing impulse is to offer unfounded reassurance or conceal tough truths. This is a mistake I see over and over again, from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to today’s messaging about H5N1.
In this newsletter, I aim to do just that—navigate tough or nuanced messages clearly—and I’m excited to bring that perspective to a wider audience through the New York Times and Crisis Averted.
Read it here (gift link, no paywall)
Wall Street Journal: I woke up to an amazing surprise—a great review in the Wall Street Journal. They called Crisis Averted an “ambitious and, given its charge, surprisingly successful attempt to reset our relationship with the field of public health. With a judicious blend of candor, hopefulness and pragmatism, she calls out its mistakes, reminds us of its historic accomplishments and emphasizes the need for the discipline to adjust its strategies if its full promise is to be realized.”
Read it here (also a gift link)
Free Giveaway: Don’t forget—my publisher is giving away five copies of Crisis Averted. The sweepstakes ends on Friday, so jump in now.
Enter to win a copy using this linkWhere to Buy: If you're excited about Crisis Averted, you can support the book by preordering your copy today. Preorders make a big difference and help get the word out.
Order at your favorite bookseller
Thank you for speaking out. I spent a weekend with retired educator friend who feels the cdc is not up to standards in communicating to the population. I agree with her. Our 4-some in our 70’s and 80’s lived through COVID-19, and are still trying to do so. My husband and I are retired health care workers and I carry a public health credential although not in epi. We do understand epidemiology results. My comments amplify yours and have to do with what I am experiencing as a lack of communication in health care systems. My member system seems to have removed a layer of communication personnel from their system resulting in a bouquet of errors which I have received in my actions to stay healthy. It’s infuriating. When I was working I used the CDC, NIOSH and other once illustrious research bodies to develop trainings and improve my knowledge for one to one interactions with clients, that is human beings. Please keep up your efforts to illustrate the need for human beings to communicate HONESTLY with human beings. Rosy expectations of dark clouds on the horizon is not optimism, its stupidity.
congratulations on thereat review from the Wall Street journal. That is not easy to get