Quarantine Life from Cholera to COVID-19

“Lest we forget the lessons of our past, Kari Nixon reminds us—in poignant yet relevant detail—that we’ve been here before, and, more important, we can find our way out.” —Niki Kapsambelis, author of The Inheritance: A Family on the Front Lines of the Battle Against Alzheimer’s Disease
“A brilliant look at the history of humanity through the lens of disease, this book is a must-read for anyone who has found depths of resilience and determination in this pandemic (and that’s all of us). Smart, accessible and downright funny, Nixon’s Quarantine Life presents an in-depth archive of our collective past in order to better illuminate who we will be beyond just survivors of a pandemic. Her words make us reflect our own self-prioritization and adaptability, and, most important, have us believing we will come out of this better than when we entered.” —Aparna Shewakramani, TV personality
“I’ve interviewed over three hundred scientists for my show and read nothing but science books. Never have I met someone whose incredibly distinctive work became so serendipitously relevant and important at such a specific moment in time. Kari packed a wonderful overview of three hundred years’ worth of literary accounts from humans impacted by various pathogens through modern history and mixed it perfectly with modern science to give us much-needed historical perspective on the present while providing balanced views on COVID and other current diseases and, perhaps
even more important, a clearer outlook on the inevitable future. Whether you’re into history, literature, or science, or just want to better understand the many frustrating and seemingly counterintuitive responses contemporary humans are having while experiencing their first pandemic . . . this is a book centuries in the making that is a must-read today.” —Shane Mauss, host of the podcast Here We Are
" But Quarantine Life is not aimed at an academic audience. It includes disease history and the lessons of past pandemics, depictions of pandemics in literature, personal observations about the pandemic politics of the moment, and takeaway lessons from past mistakes and successes. The chief merit of the book is its readability—it is never less than engaging, as Nixon shifts between subjects and styles." —Shawn Vestal, The Spokesman-Review