‘On Immunity’: An introspection on inoculation, immunity

In 'On Immunity: An Inoculation,” Eula Biss explores the anxieties and prejudices swirling through debates about vaccination. Biss, who holds an MFA in non-fiction writing from the University of Iowa, explores her topic through a variety of lenses - scientific, literary, sociohistorical, political, and, most personally, as a mother. She lays bare the conflict between our desire for independence and our undeniable interdependence while steadfastly making a case for the necessary primacy of the latter.

'On Immunity,” which the New York Times rightfully called 'spellbinding” and 'ferociously intelligent” while naming it one of the top 10 books of 2014, is as aesthetically rich as it is deeply researched. In this passage, Biss reflects on the ways in which parenting decisions in the present resound through time:

'Every day with a child, I have discovered, is a kind of time travel. I cast my mind ahead with each decisions I make, wondering what I might be giving or taking from my child in the future … But even when I do nothing, I am aware that I am irrevocably changing the future. Time marches forward in a course that is forever altered by the fact that I did nothing.”

'On Immunity” is a call for us to do something - vaccinate - rather than nothing, and Biss builds her argument with care and caring, genuinely seeking to understand the fears that might cause some parents to avoid or delay vaccinating their children. While she has no time for fearmongers, she is empathetic toward those who are afraid. 'On Immunity” shines a light into dark places in our hearts and minds in the hope that we might protect our bodies, both individually and collectively.

Reading

What: Mission Creek Festival: Eula Biss

Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

When: Noon Friday

Cost: Free