Okay, speaking directly to those of y’all who love Mary Roach and that book about being a woman in Victorian times — just go read this book. It is by far the funniest book about plagues that I have ever read. And I am saying that as a person who has read multiple books about plagues. Jennifer Wright, who also wrote that book about bad breakups throughout time that most of y’all didn’t seem to like very much, wrote Get Well Soon about 14 different plagues throughout history. She starts from the Antonine Plague (which took down the Romans) and hits on various others including leprosy, polio, the Spanish flu and of course — the Black Plague. It is full of absolutely fascinating and totally disgusting information. She’s funny, she’s weird, and she makes fun of John Snow — the guy who solved the cholera epidemic in London and not the guy from Game of Thrones. Much nerd respect for Jennifer Wright. She also writes some really kind and respectful things about St. Damien of Molokai, who sacrificed his life to care for lepers in Hawaii. It’s smart and funny and fascinating — just read it!
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