I just finished a book about the historic world plagues.

“Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them” by Jennifer Wright.

Here is a short synopsis of the contents of the book:

“A humorous book about history’s worst plagues—from the Antonine Plague, to leprosy, to polio—and the heroes who fought 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.

In late-nineteenth-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome—a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.  And in turn-of-the-century New York, an Irish cook caused two lethal outbreaks of typhoid fever, a case that transformed her into the notorious Typhoid Mary and led to historic medical breakthroughs.

Throughout time, humans have been terrified and fascinated by the plagues they’ve suffered from. 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. With her signature mix of in-depth research and upbeat storytelling, and not a little dark humor, Jennifer Wright explores history’s most gripping and deadly outbreaks.”

At first,  I wondered how anyone could write about some of the worst plagues in recorded history and make it humorous.  What I found was it wasn’t the plagues or those who died that were funny, but the way we, as a human race, react to the sicknesses that plague us.  Our ignorance causes us to do some pretty funny things.  Not only funny, but down right scary.

People will believe anything if it is stated in the name of a cure.  There have been some really strange cures concocted over the years that actually had no effect on the illness and seemed pretty silly, but the practices were still done and for hundred of years.

As we contemplate history of the major illnesses, we think that we are in the clear and have pushed away all the most scary scenarios, but in reality, we have only found remedies, not eradicated.  What I find most disturbing is that of immunizations.  We have people that refuse to have their children immunized because of one reason or another.  This writer of this book is adamant about the fact that if these people had lived during the outbreak of any of these diseases, they would be the first in line to have their children immunized or watch them die.  So by not immunizing, they are actually putting their child at risk, along with others.

I recommend reading this book.  Not only does it give you an idea of the devastation a plague can bring to those that are not prepared, but it also gives us a glimpse into our own thoughts and feelings about the cures that have been used, if we take a minute to reflect.   But mostly, it gives us an idea of how delicate this life actually is.