Take Us to a Better Place
Stories
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4.1 • 8 Ratings
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Publisher Description
A profound and unforgettable original story collection about well-being and the future of health and the planet. With a foreword by bestselling author Roxane Gay and an introduction from Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Pam Belluck. Offered to readers free by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
TAKE US TO A BETTER PLACE: Stories is a collection of powerful, perceptive, and seamlessly crafted fiction that tells multiple truths about the realities of our health and the world in which we live. Roxane Gay writes: “These stories are at once hopeful and cautionary tales. They are, above all, a call to action, offering all of us the opportunity to rise to the occasion of contributing, in ways we can, to a world where a healthier life is possible for all.” Conjuring a future that is at once vivid and hopeful, as well as heartbreaking and perilous, these deeply human stories will linger long after you finish. The stories may also spark new ideas about what a healthy future might hold—and how we might get there. The book features the literary talents of Hannah Lillith Assadi (finalist, PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize), Calvin Baker, Frank Bill, Mike McClelland, and Achy Obejas (finalist, PEN/Faulkner); the bold visual storytelling of David Robertson and Selena Goulding; and the searing science fiction/future fiction writing of New York Times best-selling author Yoon Ha Lee (winner, Locus Award), Karen Lord (finalist, Locus Award), futurist Madeline Ashby, and New York Times best-selling author Martha Wells (winner of the Nebula, Hugo and Locus Awards). The stories explore issues such as health care, climate change, immigration, gentrification, and post-traumatic stress disorder with keen observations, fully-drawn characters, and haunting narratives.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health. The Foundation is working alongside others toward its vision of a Culture of Health, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. It is in this spirit that the Foundation invited ten authors to write a story about what a Culture of Health means to them. This book is the result and is offered free to readers by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Customer Reviews
Definitely Worth a Read
3.5 stars
This was kind of a mixed bag as far as anthologies go. Some of the stories I enjoyed quite a bit: "The Flotilla at Bird Island," by Mike McClelland, "Reclamation," by David A. Robertson, "Obsolescence," by Martha Wells (the reason I picked this up in the first place), "Viral Content," by Madeline Ashby, and "The Plague Doctors," by Karen Lord. The other stories, while I can absolutely see their merit, just weren't really for me for one reason or another. I would still recommend this anthology, though. I love that it includes so many different perspectives from its slate of authors and poses so many interesting questions about humanity and our relationship to health and healthcare, looking at how that relationship affects our daily lives, individually and communally, and how it might affect us in the future in both positive and negative ways.
CW: violence, war violence, blood/gore, dead bodies & discussions of autopsies, murder, death, illness (including pandemic/plague with quarantining & mass death), medical situations, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, hate crimes, child abuse (possibly including CSA, not specified), ableism (including use of at least one slur), substance use/abuse, self-harm, suicide/attempted suicide, mental illness (PTSD, depression, anxiety), homophobia (including slurs), discussion of internment camps/detention centers (I think that's everything, but in all likelihood, I've missed something, so I apologize if that's the case.)