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Get well soon
320 pages
A darkly hilarious and surprisingly uplifting romp through the most devastating plagues in human history.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting next to your smartest, most morbidly fascinating friend at a dinner party as they regale you with tales of historical disaster. The pace is brisk and engaging, effortlessly carrying you through centuries of medical horrors with a tone that is irreverent yet deeply respectful of the heroes who tried to help. Despite the grim subject matter of plagues, boils, and societal collapse, the mood remains surprisingly buoyant and lighthearted, anchored by sharp wit and a modern conversational style. It is an emotional journey that starts in shock at the sheer absurdity of past medical practices and ends in genuine awe of human resilience. This is the perfect read for fans of Mary Roach and Caitlin Doughty who like their history meticulously researched, unapologetically gruesome, and laugh-out-loud funny.
- Mood
- morbidly fascinating
- lighthearted
- curious
- Tone
- wry
- irreverent
- informative
- darkly comedic
- upbeat
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- human resilience · the absurdity of history · medical heroism · societal panic · scientific progress
- The writing
- Conversational, witty, and accessible, blending rigorous historical research with modern pop-culture sensibilities and sharp punchlines.
- The arc
- Moves from morbid curiosity and shock at historical ignorance to a surprising sense of hope and admiration for those who fought back.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love their history served with a side of snark and don't mind a bit of gore, especially fans of popular science and morbid trivia.
Content notes
- medical gore
- death and dying
- disease and illness
- body horror
About 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."--
Description from Open Library.
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