Book Pick of the Week: COVID Lockdown Insanity

In his data-based, eye-opening book, COVID Lockdown Insanity, biochemist and immunologist Hugh McTavish, Ph.D., takes a fascinating, deep dive into “lost time of life” from deaths of despair and time spent depressed caused by the lockdown response — numbers rarely examined or talked about during the past two years. He shares his findings related to pandemic mitigation measures in hopes of influencing an enlightened approach for future crises.


“Lockdowns were just a catastrophic mistake — one of the worst public policy disasters and mistakes ever,” Dr. McTavish said in a recent interview. “They threw 1 in 5 Americans, 19.3 percent to be precise, into moderate to severe depression.”

Calling the dramatic uptick in depression, drug overdoses and suicides “entirely predictable,” Dr. McTavish delivers an unflinching look into deaths of despair, “lost time of life” and other unsettling consequences of the lockdown response in his new book, COVID Lockdown Insanity. In it, Dr. McTavish reveals the staggering human toll of long-term isolation coupled with the shuttering of lifelines like churches and workplaces.

Dr. McTavish’s careful examination of the scientific evidence related to COVID-19 transmission and his analyses of both the human and economic costs of the lockdown strategy illuminate the dysfunctionality of the government’s policy response. In the end, he lights a path toward making more enlightened decisions that offer hope of real solutions.

In the book, Dr. McTavish dissects the data that shows:
 

- The COVID lockdowns threw 63 million Americans into major depression.

- All evidence suggests that the lockdown response to COVID failed to decrease COVID deaths at all.

- Even if the lockdowns prevented 200,000 COVID deaths, which they probably did not, the lockdowns caused three times more loss of life in increased suicides, drug overdose deaths, cancer deaths and heart disease deaths than they saved in prevented COVID deaths.

- For every 1 COVID death prevented, the lockdowns caused these harms: 1/3 of a death of despair (suicide or drug overdose); 316 people thrown into major depression; 127 people out of work; 350 students out of school; 1,640 people denied the right to live their lives as they wish and made at least a little less happy.

- Mask wearing has “little or no effect” on COVID cases or deaths.

- Hand washing and hand sanitizer use is the best intervention and could dramatically reduce COVID deaths, but this was underemphasized.

- Asymptomatic people very rarely spread COVID.

- Children do not spread COVID, and closing schools had no effect on COVID spread at all, and we knew that by the summer of 2020, and CDC staff wrote a paper saying so in January 2021.

 Draw your own conclusions, but this book will ask and answer a lot of questions.

Amazon Pick of the Week: The Binge Watcher's Guide to the Golden Girls

A must read if you are a Golden Girls fan!

Thirty years after it first aired, The Golden Girls is one of the most popular shows in syndication and available to view on multiple streaming services. The show ran for seven seasons, collecting a staggering 58 Emmy nominations and 11 wins along the way, and over the years, this hit comedy about four fierce and sassy 50+ roommates in Miami charmed millions of viewers with its incomparable wit. Above all, The Golden Girls celebrated the strength and depth of the friendship between its four iconic characters - Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia- who have been adopted by multiple generations and attracts both gay and straight viewers.

This beloved television show from the 1980s, created by Susan Harris, the iconic creator of the series Soap, and one of the writers of the trailblazing, feminist show Maude, hasn't lost its fanbase over the decades. It seems to be the one thing that all the generations, from baby boomers to millennials, agree on: They love "The Girls," especially Betty White, who proved to be one of the most all-time adored entertainers.


“It’s a comfort food. It’s one of the best shows to have on when you’re sick. And it’s endlessly quotable with your girlfriends. It’s the Steel Magnolias of TV shows,” said author Marissa DeAngelis

The Binge Watcher's Guide to The Golden Girls is meant to be a companion as you binge, giving you a quick recap of each episode and where it fits in the series, with a favorite quote, notable goofs and inconsistences, and some behind-the-scenes drama. Books and downloads are available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles Nook, iTunes, and Kobo.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Binge-Watchers-Guide-Golden-Girls/dp/1626016151

Kindle Pick of the Week: Building Happier Kids

Between the frantic pace of pre-pandemic life and the isolation and screen-time overload of 2020, many kids are suffering from stress and other mental health issues. In Building Happier Kids, pediatrician Hansa Bhargava helps parents understand the impact of stress and shares concrete steps parents can take to reduce the pressure on their children and teens and increase their health and happiness. Dr. Bhargava prescribes taking a step back from today's non-stop pace and focusing on the basics of healthy eating, quality sleep, and unscheduled free time. Extracurricular commitments, homework, and ever-present electronic devices can make this seem easier said than done, but Dr. Bhargava offers realistic, balanced advice that will help prioritize health and restore the happiness of childhood.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HSW9DL7/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Kindle Pick of the Week: Last Night When I Was Young: Sporting Favourites of Mine

A great book of sports and reflection.

Last Night When I Was Young saw me riding thoroughbred racehorses as if I were Doug Smith and Fred Winter. In the same vein, I played football as Jimmy Greaves did for Chelsea and I was a Test Match batsman emulating the great PBH May. I hit the biggest serve as Mike Sangster in the Davis Cup, as well as bobbing and weaving in the boxing ring exactly like my favourite Dick Tiger, the world middleweight champion.

I was unstoppable behind the wheel of a racing car as Britain's first world champion Mike Hawthorn but on the speedway track I rode with stylish aplomb interpreting my hero, Ronnie "Mirac" Moore. Swinging a mashie niblick as Peter Alliss was no handicap. Rugby Union at Twickenham when my body swerve was very sharp - Richard Sharp. When the Olympics came around, I ran the race of my life both over long distances and over one lap hurdles respectively as Gordon Pirie and the great David Hemery. With eyes open, I loved watching the upright Dorothy Hyman dip and throw herself over the line whilst I fell in love with Mary Rand hitch-kicking her way into Olympic history.

Fantasy is then mixed with fact. The jockeys' journeys from completing exacting apprenticeships to becoming champions on the Flat and the National Hunt. Smith riding two-year-olds on the edge in the One Thousand Guineas and the Two Thousand Guineas. Whereas Winter was jumping off the edge of the world in The Grand National.

The trials and tribulations with the relative success of the 1960's Chelsea football team from Drake's ducklings morphing into Docherty's uncut diamonds. A fourteen-year-old boy from New Zealand leaves home to become the first speedway superstar. The fight of the week from the USA brings us a Nigerian boxer who confounds convention and fights his way to the top of two weight divisions.

Amazon Pick of the Week: The Process Is The Product

Former Iowa State and pro basketball player, Paul Shirley with a new book.

Here's the lesson Paul Shirley has learned: it doesn’t matter if it’s professional sports, writing, public speaking, engineering, or acting—there will never be enough money, fame, or success to justify all the work if you can’t enjoy the work itself. You have to fall in love with the process.

In The Process Is The Product, Paul shares the stories of failure and rebirth that have taught him this lesson with one goal in mind: helping you fall in love with your process so you can find meaning, finish projects, and accomplish the goals you set for yourself.

Featuring plenty of humor, humility, and outside sources, this is a book designed to equip readers with the tools to break big projects into smaller tasks while learning to love the work along the way.


Paul Shirley played for 17 professional basketball teams in a nine-year career, including stops in Spain, Greece, Russia, and with three teams in the NBA. He's the author of two works of nonfiction: Can I Keep My Jersey? and Stories I Tell On Dates. Paul is the founder of Writers Blok, a co-writing space in Los Angeles, and The Process, a virtual co-working platform. Ball Boy is his first novel. --This text refers to the paperback edition.