Most of Us Have Learned to Fear Pathogenic Microbes
This book explains why we can stop being afraid of viruses, “germs,” and contagious illnesses, and what walking away from that fear might mean for our health and our lives.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Elizabeth Barnum began to wonder if the narratives she had been told throughout her life about what causes illness were really true. And she saw that these narratives were making people afraid—afraid of getting sick from a pathogenic microbe, even afraid of each other.
She listened to scientists and doctors who had a different view of what was going on, and was surprised to realize that, even as a non-scientist, she could understand and explain to others how the accepted science around why we get sick didn’t hold up.
A lifelong writer and a former teacher of college writing, she wrote this book so readers might realize there is no need for fear about getting sick, and, in fact, there is a new empowerment to be found in deeper understanding of what we call “illness.”
Human beings have experienced sickness and disease for thousands of years. But it is only since the mid-19th century that diseases have been attributed to pathogenic particles such as viruses and bacteria. We view this as “settled science,” but is it?
Are there really microbes that prey on human cells and cause the symptoms that we call “disease?” Or does this narrative mainly exist to frighten us and make us more dependent on medical interventions?
This book explores the story of how this narrative came to be and why it has lasted for well over a century and a half, as well as what the world and our individual lives might look like if we understood what is really going on when we “get sick.”
“Even the most ardent skeptic reading this book will have to start asking questions that must be faced. Cannot recommend highly enough.”
— Jordan Grant, MD