words from serena

As a recap, I decided to read Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder for my second book. I chose to read it because I thought it both an extremely interesting perspective and structure for an author to take on (the writing of this book and what it discusses was spurred by a near-death hospital stay and experience from the author himself), and also thought it was a timely collection of thoughts to read in light of the recently-passed 1 year anniversary of when COVID-19 kicked us all off of campus and out of in-person classes and sent many people home to work remotely. As I discussed in my last post, even the introduction and first few chapters made me reflect more upon my mortality and how my privilege has shaped my view on my own health as well as healthcare in general, and after nearly finishing the book (I definitely had to speed read it a bit because of how crazy school has been, but want to go back and reread certain sections), I can definitely say ...

For my book 2, I chose to read Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder. Overall, the book is a reflective diary from the author, who suddenly fell gravely ill and had to wait for hours in an emergency room before even getting the chance to be correctly diagnosed and sent into surgery. During his experiences barely holding onto his life, he realized and reflected upon the value of health in America, as well as its sheer fragility and how his near-death hospital experience taught him what important lessons we need to know to survive in this world well. In light of the pandemic, I really wanted to read this, as I feel like my belief in the American healthcare system severely dwindled over the past year and along with it, my philosophies on my own health, wellness, and mortality in this world (not to get dark, haha). After reading the first few chapters, my reflection on COVID-19 and the American healthcare only increased. Unlike some of my friends, I think I...