Caitlin Rivers: Guest Blog Post on Crisis Averted
This guest blog post is by WWSG exclusive thought leader, Caitlin Rivers.
I wrote a book! It is called Crisis Averted, and it will be published by Viking in October. It’s been three years in the making, and I am so excited to share it with the world.
I wanted to write a book to show you all the inside story of public health, to see the field as I see it—as a mostly invisible source of tremendous progress and change. I want readers to know that the influence of public health extends far beyond managing outbreaks. It is intricately woven into every day, influencing the quality of the air we breathe, the safety of the food we consume, and even the toilets we use.
At its best, public health remains invisible because crises are averted. I have great appreciation for this fact, which I want to share with readers so they can see it, understand it, and factor it into how they go about their lives—especially after such an upending few years.
At the same time, I have so many hopes for the field that haven’t been met (yet), and I hope my book can contribute to future successes. For example, one of my favorite chapters takes on the misguided attempts to withhold information from the public in a bid to “prevent panic.” This should not be a goal, nor a priority for ambassadors of public health!
One aspect of this project I am proud of is that I make these points by telling stories about the people who make it possible to going about our lives without perceiving public health much of the time. Each chapter features under-sung heroes who dedicated their careers to this very cause, and in doing so, changed the world. I promise, their remarkable lives are thrilling and telling of what we should aim for.
You can pre-order Crisis Averted from your favorite bookseller here. Preorders help authors a lot because they become self-reinforcing by giving the publisher, book buyers, libraries, and so on an early signal. This turns into more attention, which drives popularity and so on. All this is to say: Your early readership would be immensely helpful.
More to come!
– Caitlin
