Preventable - Andy Slavitt

 Sub-title: The inside story of how leadership failures, politics, and selfishness doomed the U.S. coronavirus response

I've avoided reading books from policy makers and government participants as it can be just too much and particularly too one-sided, not to mention not always very well written or edit.  This book does a good job of sharing an insider's view of the response in the US to the covid-19 pandemic up through March 2021.  I think it would be worth re-reading a few years from now too.  The author, Andy Slavitt, worked in the Obama administration on the ACA launch, was a former acting administrator of CMS and with the Biden administration on the response to the pandemic.  He started a twitter feed at the beginning of the pandemic and launched a podcast, "In the Bubble" where he interviews those responsible for aspects of the U.S. response.

Reading the book made me aware of how different an education is provided in advanced (he went to Wharton and Harvard) institutions.  Implicit in his analysis is the strategic, global, problem-solving approaches I've read and studied but never was particularly good at myself - I was the worker bee who executed the strategies and reported on the results.  

The book is, of course, focused mostly on the faults of the administration though it does try to point out the bigger issues in America as a whole.  The suggested remedies are documented as an appendix that is specific yet not necessarily actionable or time-bound.  Interesting read.

Quotes:

"We were like people who had never seen fire before and who wouldn't believe it was dangerous without sticking our hands in the flames first."

"History would judge us on two things....how many people did we lose? and what did I do to help during the difficult times?"

"Save the next life."

"There are a set of personality traits required to face a crisis - separate yourself from the problem, continually weight choices based on current information; focus on the bad news and look skeptically at good news; empathy for people who aren't right in front of you; a willingness to make tough decisions that forgo short-term gains in favor of solutions that work; the ability to communicated that brings people together."

"We were novices who considered ourselves experts.  This is part and parcel of the feeling of American exceptionalism.  Th US doesn't have the humility to follow.  We think we must always lead.  We keep telling ourselves we're the best even when evidence suggests we are not.  Our mentality suggest we would rather risk being last than come in second or third."

"We don't need to solve all of society's ills to respond better to a pandemic, but we will have to do more than invest in a better first line of defense--we will need to break our pattern of indifference."

Published: 2021  Read: October 2021  Genre: Non-fiction, history

We Are Not Ourselves - Matthew Thomas

One of my reading groups chose to read this book for our monthly meeting.  It's the story of a family, Eileen, an Irish first generation American, her husband Ed, a science teacher and professor, and their son, Connell, growing up and living in America from the 1940's through to today.  Eileen aspires to have a better life than her parents; her husband resists her dreams and dotes on their only son.

As a young girl, her father takes her to see how the better half lives, beginning her desire for a better life:

"There were places, she saw now, that contained more happiness than ordinary places did.  Unless you knew that such places existed, you might be content to stay where you were."

Reading of Eileen's ambitions for her husband reminded me of the classic movie where an ambitious wife pushes her country doctor husband to perform an operation on a boy to advance their standing in the community (I can't remember the name of it).  I felt a dread building as she pushed and pushed and he resisted.  It felt like a crisis was imminent.  She believes he's having a mid-life crisis when he spends hours listening to old records.

"It was the kind of thing she imagined people did when they came to a point where the roads to the past and the future were equally muddy - retreat to the high ground of a major project."

When the real problem is revealed she wonders why it's happening.

"It hadn't happened for a reason, but they would find something to glean from it anyway.  There didn't have to be a divine plan for there to be meaning in life."

The mother/son relationship is rocky, with Eileen pushing him always to do better.  Connell is a teenager and then college student as their tragedy unfolds and finds it hard to reach out to his mother and realizes:

"...it was easier with girlfriends.  He threw all his affection at them and hoped that some of it would stick, maybe even come back to him, though if it didn't he gave it anyway, he gave it more, even, because everyone had something that needed to come out."

I enjoyed the author's descriptions of every day things, he painted pictures of their lives with small authentic details:

"She had never had a cigarette.  Aside from the pure brain-dead imbecility of subjecting yourself willingly to an avoidable carcinogen, she had always found them vile, noxious, smelly things -- except for a brief period in high school when she loved a boy who smoked and she was intoxicated by the aroma..."

At one point, Eileen goes through Ed's wallet and the author lists all the credit cards, membership cards, bits of paper and pictures that tells us so much about the man and our modern way of life.

This is a touching, tough and loving story of family and striving for a better life while living with the one we have.

Highly recommended.


Published: 2014  Read: August 2015  Genre: Fiction

ISBN: 9 781476 756660

Same Time Next Week - Leo Gutkind

Sub-title: True stories of working through mental illness

Leo Gutkind is the editor of this group of essays from therapists and patients dealing with mental illness that I picked up from the library.  I want to see if I can take a class from Gutkind since he teaches at ASU, one motivation for reading this book.

I found the contrast of the therapist's viewpoint and the patients worthwhile insight and would recommend the book for anyone touched by mental disease.  One theme is clear; regardless of the therapy, therapist, patient or diagnosis, dealing with mental illness is most successful when compassion and human connection is the priority.

One therapist early in the book sums it up, saying:

"...some people benefit greatly from a good therapist; some from finding the right medication; some, from a seemingly spontaneous improvements; some, from a combination of the above.  Having a loving and responsive mother or significant parental figures seems to be preventive, having a loving and caring adult partner is restorative.  Progress seldom comes in a straight line: courage determination, and patience are required in large measure."

I learned from another writer that a mother having the flu during pregnancy is a risk for schizophrenia:

"...up to 14% of schizophrenia cases would not have occurred had influenza in early to mid-pregnancy been avoided, and the viruses and other infections in the first trimester of pregnancy could increase schizophrenia risk as much as 700%."

Some authors provided suggestions for connecting to someone suffering with mental illness that I thought was good advice for any interaction when trying to empathize:

"When John introduced himself by saying, 'I am not a schizophrenic,' I didn't confront the odd statement by saying, 'Are you concerned about being called a schizophrenic?'  Instead, I attempted to join him by saying, 'I am not a noun either.'  I wanted to relate rather than confront." [my emphasis added].

There was a story about the effects of exposure to violence, even on TV or video games is harming because the "images seem to remain long active in the brain:

"...watching horror films lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in many young persons.  Many of these symptoms can linger for decades."

One of the last stories makes a meaningful point:

"every time we fall in love or make a friend, hold someone tight or choose a muffin, get pregnant or buy new underwear, paint a room or eat a sandwich; every choice we make to stay, to treat ourselves as valuable people, to connect more and more with this thing that can end only in loss, in death, loneliness, holey underwear or shit; every time we choose connection, we are risking loss.  But every time we do not chose connection, we are ensuring it."


Published:     Read: June-July 2015  Genre: Non-fiction

ISBN:9 781937 163198

Bipolar Disorder - A Guide for Patients and Families

Bipolar disease has affected people I'm close to and its a confusing, disheartening condition.  This book is the latest (3rd) edition to discuss the ongoing studies being done by John Hopkins University. I found it encouraging and easy to read and understand and recommend it to anyone wanting to have a greater knowledge of the subject.

The diagnosis and symptoms are presented clearly and helpfully and explain how difficult it can be to get a clear diagnosis that is followed by the appropriate treatment.   The explanation of the drugs used in treatment, their interactions and side effects are understandable, clear, and complete.    The importance of appropriate, patient specific medication combined with essential counseling therapy really helped me understand the benefits.  There is a chapter on dealing with bipolar and other physical conditions and different life situations.  The best part I felt is the advice for families and patients for dealing with the day to day frustrations and challenges in the chapters on getting and staying well.  This is a complex condition and the ongoing research in genetics is offering promise in providing more specific treatment and greater understanding.

Published: 2014  Read: May 2015  Genre: Science (Medical)

ISBN: 9 781421412061