STARRED Book Review: Before the Next Crisis

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

An insightful study of the Covid-19 pandemic with the goal of mitigating a future crisis

Tista Ghosh is an epidemiologist and award-winning journalist who has worked in public health for 15 years. At the center of the Covid-19 pandemic, she saw the issues that arose from a chronically underfunded and misunderstood system. Unfortunately, the risk of another pandemic is all too real. Our best chance of navigating one successfully is to look to humanity’s response to Covid-19.

Ghosh believes that there are several key areas we can focus on to improve everyone’s odds in a similar situation. The first is the healthcare industry and their messaging of the crisis. The next is large employers and how they go about protecting their workers. The political side of things is important too. As are ordinary, everyday people.

Before the Next Crisis offers a fantastic summary of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected multiple sectors in the USA. It gives an overview of what was happening on a national level both in the healthcare field and on the political front. But deeper than this, it delves into the lives of ordinary people who were trying to survive during these events. It uncovers the uncertainty, frustration, and difficulties people had as they navigated unprecedented events.

The goal of Before the Next Crisis is to determine what could have been done better during the Covid years in the hopes of implementing these systems if a new pandemic arises. On that front, it does a good job.

The people’s stories are from a diverse range. Different occupations, different political affiliation, different ages, and experiences. By going through the problems that these people had during Covid, it lays the groundwork for managing the same issues should there be a new crisis. Aside from this, though, reading about these people and their thoughts and experiences, is absolutely riveting. It’s easy to understand why they have the qualms they may have had during Covid, because they’re explained so eloquently. Knowing their situation gives true insight into why they may not have chosen to vaccinate or wear a mask. It discusses why things like political views or ethnicity may have shaped people’s responses. It touches on the heart of the problem, US citizens’ lack of public health literacy and lack of trust in those who understood the health crisis.

As a lot of the public responses to the pandemic were shaped by trust issues, either with political parties, confusing media updates, or loss of trust in the healthcare industry, this is the key area that needs to be addressed. In Before the Next Crisis Ghosh explains where these problems arose with a view of keeping the same issues from burgeoning in a future crisis. She also examines businesses or health practitioners who had a lot of success during Covid-19. Drawing from these examples and continuing to build on what we have learned from this epidemic will better prepare us for the future.

This is a surprisingly optimistic book for one that delves so thoroughly into such a recent, divisive, and devastating crisis. Rather than focusing on the things that went wrong or that were managed poorly, Ghosh leans into the areas that nailed their responses to the pandemic. There’s an emphasis on physical health, but the importance of mental health during an epidemic like this is also given weight.

Before the Next Crisis is a thoughtful, well-researched piece that retains its humanity while mapping a way to a safer future.

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