By Danielle Szewc
Two years later and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is still raw for many people, groups, and nations affected by the novel SARS-COV-2 virus. Dr. Bonnie Henry and Lynn Henry’s Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe offers a new perspective into the daily decisions and behind-the-scenes of the public health measures taken in the early weeks of the pandemic in Canada: “There’s science, and there’s emotion. The scientific facts are one thing; the social choices and consequences are another. We need to consider both.”
Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe: Four Weeks that Shaped a Pandemic is divided into three sections: “Part I: Be Kind” focuses on the week of March 12, 2020, starting with the events in China upon the release of the news of the novel coronavirus on December 26, 2019. “Part II: Be Calm” transitions to the week of March 17, 2020, and the beginning of the Canadian pandemic measures to flatten the curve. Finally, “Part III: Be Safe” focuses on the end of March and April 2020, and the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each part is sectioned into two narratives, one from the perspective of Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Colombia’s provincial health officer, and one from Lynn Henry, Dr. Henry’s sister and close confidant during the early weeks of the pandemic. Dr. Henry’s perspective is filled with the reflections of her previous work on the SARS pandemic in 2003 and the Ebola virus outbreaks in 2001, along with optimism in scientific advancements, scientific policy, and public health measures. Lynn Henry adds to the narrative with both a personal and a professional understanding of Dr. Henry’s decisions and actions during the first four weeks of the pandemic in Canada.
Although slow and dry in some areas, both authors are detailed and well-versed in their reflections. Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe adds a forgotten aspect to the measures taken during the initial stages—and branching out to the current stages—of the pandemic: the authorities trying to guide us are human and have tough decisions to make.
While not everyone may agree with the viewpoints expressed in this memoir, I encourage you to pick it up and try to understand that decisions made in the public health and political environment do have a very human aspect to them.
Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.