Book Review: Get Well Soon is the Perfect Pandemic Read

Get Well Soon almost feels like a godsend in this era of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some parts feel too prescient to be real. I thought that reading a book about plagues would stress me out, but instead it made me vaguely hopeful.

Jennifer Wright tackles these topics with a wry sense of humour that helps ease the fears that come with plagues. Not to spoil everything from the start, but this is an excellent book. It has plenty of stories about death and pestilence, but told in a way that makes it fun somehow.

I thought it would be too dark, but during this pandemic, it should be essential reading for all of us.

Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them

by Jennifer Wright
[February 7th, 2017]
The Pitch: The best medicine really is laughter in this humorous history about the greatest plagues we’ve ever seen.

Get Well Soon delivers the gruesome, morbid details of some of the worst plagues in human history, as well as stories of the heroic figures who fought to ease their suffering.

And in these times, more than ever, we need this kind of book. We’re in unprecedented modern times, but plagues aren’t new. How we react to them isn’t new. Just the details are.

Get Well Soon Truly Booked Review

★★★★☆
4.25 out of 5 on Goodreads

Amazon | Indigo | BooksAMillion


TrulyBooked’s Review

I only started this book because of a reading challenge that I was doing and I fully expected to hate it. Imagine my surprise when I devoured it cover to cover. Instead of depressing, Get Well Soon is uplifting and even laugh out loud funny at some parts.

Historically, this book is a gem and I was surprised how much I loved reading about the plagues. About how people react to them and most importantly how we persist past them.

In 1518, in a small town in France, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn’t stop. She danced herself to her death six days later, and soon thirty-four more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had died from the mysterious dancing plague.

Starting with the dancing plague where a woman named Frau Troffea danced herself to death in 1518, I was hooked. It took me less than a day to finish the book and by the end of it, I could look at our current pandemic with fresh eyes.

Things will change, but if we can band together, there’s hope.

And if we can’t? We’ve always survived regardless.

We’re not the virus. We’re cockroaches. 😉

Who Should Read Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them?

Everyone.

Okay, if you have a weak stomach then maybe this isn’t the book for you. I have a weak stomach and I made it through it, but… There’s some graphic descriptions in here.

If you like fun history writing, medicine, and making learning fun? This is the book for you. I highly recommend it even for people who don’t like nonfiction books normally.

If you’re on the fence, read some quotes from the book. If you’re still not sold, then this isn’t the book for you.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 from TrulyBooked

Amazon | Indigo | BooksAMillion

Do you have any suggestions or are there things you think I’ve missed? Leave a comment below. Or if you want more posts like this? Sign up today and never miss a post!


Get Well Soon Truly Booked Review

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