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Kate Washington

@washingtonkate.bsky.social
298 followers 495 following 40 posts

Writer, editor, swimming hole enthusiast, author of Already Toast: Caregiving and Burnout in America (Beacon, 2021) and Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims (coming July 7, 2026!)

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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Reaching midlife doesn’t have to be about crisis. For @washingtonkate.bsky.social, it was about coming back home to herself by remembering the things that used to bring her joy when she was younger. buff.ly/UfXHviQ
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The Becoming Podcast | Season 8; Episode 7 | Kate Washington on caregiving, midlife and swimming her way back to herself - Jessie Harrold
This episode of The Becoming Podcast is for anyone who has felt like they’ve lost themselves in caregiving, or in the demands of midlife.  This month, author Kate Washington joins me on the pod to…
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Charlotte Prong @charlotteprong.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Books read in August. Mother Tongue by @novicsara.bsky.social, What Am I, a Deer? by Polly Barton and Midstream by @washingtonkate.bsky.social were the standouts of the newer stuff, and of course Toni Morrison is always excellent. #litfic #nonfiction #booksky #memoir
Ricky Biscuits, the cutest and smallest dog ever, sits behind a stack of books: 
What Am I, a Deer? by Polly Barton
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner 
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison 
Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims by Kate Washington 
Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg 
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe 
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise Cover of the book Mother Tongue, a memoir by Sara Novic
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
@washingtonkate.bsky.social’s MIDSTREAM blends nature writing, history, science, feminist thought, literary criticism, and memoir. This is how she brought all these genres together. buff.ly/MoeSM5g
podcasts.apple.com
#203 Weaving Memoir Plus Through 50 Swims with Kate Washington
Podcast Episode · Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle · August 6 · 34m
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I'm really excited about this event: a book talk with a restorative yoga session that Yoga Shala is hosting for me on Sunday! Sacramento, if you need a little TLC, come join us (and bring a swimsuit, we're going to the river afterward to jump in!) www.yogashalasac.com/events/dive-...
yogashalasac.com
Dive Into Embodied Joy: A Restorative Yoga Workshop and Author Conversation — Yoga Shala Sacramento
Join Annie Fox and local author Kate Washington for an afternoon of connecting to self and community. The workshop price includes a signed copy of Midstream, light refreshments and a special surprise ...
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Sacramento! I'm so excited about this nontraditional book event--a talk + restorative yoga workshop (with amazing teacher Annie Fox) that dovetails with Midstream's themes of embodiment and recovering from burnout. August 16 at 2pm at Yoga Shala Arden! www.yogashalasac.com/events/dive-...
yogashalasac.com
Dive Into Embodied Joy: A Restorative Yoga Workshop and Author Conversation — Yoga Shala Sacramento
Join Annie Fox and local author Kate Washington for an afternoon of connecting to self and community. The workshop price includes a signed copy of Midstream, light refreshments and a special surprise ...
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
So excited to be interviewed on the latest episode of Freelance Writing Direct with @estelleserasmus.bsky.social ! (PS, she's also doing a giveaway of Midstream over on Instagram!) estelleserasmus.com/203-weaving-...
estelleserasmus.com
#203 Weaving Memoir Plus Through 50 Swims with Kate Washington - Estelle Erasmus
Freelance Writing Direct talks to author of Midstream Kate Washington about shaping a memoir around a recurring challenge, writing candidly about divorce and self-reclamation, and incorporating resear...
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
While @washingtonkate.bsky.social isn’t recommending a cold plunge as a cure-all, she does say everyone has their own personal river they must swim. There’s something out there that can give you that same restorative feeling.
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‘Midstream’ traces author’s journey to plunge into 50 bodies of water before she turned 50
The memoir took Kate Washington around the world and brought a sense of healing after years as a caregiver.
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Napa! Come on out to Bookmine this Wednesday! I'll be reading and signing books and chatting with the wonderful Lori Narlock about MIDSTREAM. I'd love to see you there!
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Are we still in our Hot Divorcee Summer era? @washingtonkate.bsky.social never envisioned MIDSTREAM as solely a divorce memoir, but it changed into even less of one as she wrote it. buff.ly/ZOrU23O
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The Summer Memoir I Can't Stop Thinking About
How Kate Washington Rediscovered Herself After Years of Intensive Caregiving
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
50 bodies of water by the age of 50. Creeks, hot springs, lakes, and oceans. Those were the rules for @washingtonkate.bsky.social’s 50 Dunks Challenge. @texasstandard.bsky.social
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‘Midstream’ traces author’s journey to plunge into 50 bodies of water before she turned 50
The memoir took Kate Washington around the world and brought a sense of healing after years as a caregiver.
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
We also can’t stop thinking of MIDSTREAM, @washingtonkate.bsky.social’s latest memoir! buff.ly/SEYLyNT
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The Summer Memoir I Can't Stop Thinking About
How Kate Washington Rediscovered Herself After Years of Intensive Caregiving
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Each time @washingtonkate.bsky.social’s career took two steps back for a care responsibility, she struggled to take a step forward. Swimming helped her reclaim her life. @literaryhub.bsky.social
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Remaking My Life in 50 Swims
The sky was a hazy yellow gray, the AQI was a “very unhealthy” three hundred, and it was one hundred degrees as I loaded my car with an overnight bag and a hopeful last-minute tote holding a swimsu…
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
After the end of her marriage and years of caregiving, @washingtonkate.bsky.social needed a soul cleanse. She returned to swimming, her favorite childhood pastime.
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‘Midstream’ traces author’s journey to plunge into 50 bodies of water before she turned 50
The memoir took Kate Washington around the world and brought a sense of healing after years as a caregiver.
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
It’s especially important for women at midlife to carve out time for things that sustain their essential selves, whatever they may be. @washingtonkate.bsky.social
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I Thought My Husband’s Recovery Would End My Caregiver Burnout. I Was Wrong.
Years after his medical crisis, I was still exhausted and disconnected. Swimming 50 wild swimming holes for my 50th birthday made me whole again.
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
🚨LAST DAY🚨 to enter @literaryhub.bsky.social’s Summer Reads Giveaway! This bundle includes @washingtonkate.bsky.social’s MIDSTREAM, which will inspire you to do your own 50 Dunks Challenge.
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Lit Hub Summer Reads Giveaway 2026
Lit Hub has partnered with a slew of publishers to launch its second-ever Summer Reads giveaway. Ten lucky winners will take home all of the below books (more than two dozen!) to get their s…
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
@washingtonkate.bsky.social hadn’t thought of the 50 dunks project as a future book when she came up with it. It was only along the way and after the project was complete that she realized how much it changed her whole approach to life. buff.ly/SEYLyNT
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The Summer Memoir I Can't Stop Thinking About
How Kate Washington Rediscovered Herself After Years of Intensive Caregiving
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
When @washingtonkate.bsky.social was invited to speaking engagements, she looked up nearby rivers and lakes in hopes of finding a good dunk nearby. Work travel was a way to squeeze in her 50 Dunks Project. @literaryhub.bsky.social
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Remaking My Life in 50 Swims
The sky was a hazy yellow gray, the AQI was a “very unhealthy” three hundred, and it was one hundred degrees as I loaded my car with an overnight bag and a hopeful last-minute tote holding a swimsu…
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Davis! Come see me and Naomi Williams tonight, in conversation about my new book Midstream! Reading and Q&A at 6:30, giveaway and signing to follow! avidreaderbooks.com/events/56320...
avidreaderbooks.com
Kate Washington @ The Avid Reader | Avid Reader
Davis' Local Independent Bookstore since 1987
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
@washingtonkate.bsky.social didn’t set out to cure her caregiver burnout with the 50 Dunks challenge, but she couldn’t have picked a better one for the purpose. She craved adventure and travel, fun and freedom.
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I Thought My Husband’s Recovery Would End My Caregiver Burnout. I Was Wrong.
Years after his medical crisis, I was still exhausted and disconnected. Swimming 50 wild swimming holes for my 50th birthday made me whole again.
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It was such a pleasure to talk with Vicki Gonzalez on Insight yesterday! If you missed our conversation about my new (out today!!) book Midstream, find it and a lovely writeup about it here: www.capradio.org/articles/202...
capradio.org
Local author's '50 dunks' adventure brings wave of self reflection in new book
A former Sacramento Bee dining critic had a challenge for herself: do 50 swims before her 50th birthday. Her new book details her aquatic adventures around California.
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Happy #PublicationDay, @washingtonkate.bsky.social! 🏊️ MIDSTREAM, her fresh vision of midlife to women who have abandoned themselves in service of others, is “a poignant portrait of a woman stepping into her power in middle age.”—Kirkus Reviews, ⭐️Starred Review
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Huge thanks to @sunsetandecho.bsky.social for featuring Midstream on this first Friday in the first First Sentence Fridays in Avidly! It was a huge treat to dive deeply into my writing process and also to share my beloved laptop quail! avidly.org/first-senten...
avidly.org
First Sentence Fridays: Kate Washington’s Midstream - Avidly
"First Sentence Fridays" is a new series at Avidly, highlighting the prose and process of new books. Avidly: What’s the first sentence of your book? No
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Midstream is one of the titles featured in the huge, awesome @literaryhub.bsky.social Summer Reads giveaway! Enter here! @beaconpress.bsky.social lithub.com/lit-hub-summ...
lithub.com
Lit Hub Summer Reads Giveaway 2026
Lit Hub has partnered with a slew of publishers to launch its second-ever Summer Reads giveaway. Ten lucky winners will take home all of the below books (more than two dozen!) to get their s…
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Reposted by Kate Washington
gayatripat.bsky.social @gayatripat.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
@beaconpress.bsky.social author @washingtonkate.bsky.social's MIDSTREAM is one of the Amazon Editors picks for Best Biographies and Memoirs for July! Check out the full list below and find MIDSTREAM on sale July 7th! amzn.to/4eYSZv3
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Found out first thing this morning that my book is mentioned in the "on our radar" section of the New Yorker's books newsletter! www.newyorker.com/books/what-w...
newyorker.com
Eight Great American Novels
Our staffers on good books for America’s big birthday.
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Summertime and the reading is easy! 📚️😎 We’re taking part in @literaryhub.bsky.social’s Summer Reads Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win all the books in the list, including @washingtonkate.bsky.social’s MIDSTREAM and Deni Elliott and Graham Buck’s CATCHING SIGHT!
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Lit Hub Summer Reads Giveaway 2026
Lit Hub has partnered with a slew of publishers to launch its second-ever Summer Reads giveaway. Ten lucky winners will take home all of the below books (more than two dozen!) to get their s…
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
🗣️ Save the date! 🌊 @washingtonkate.bsky.social is having a book launch for her new memoir, MIDSTREAM, at East Village Bookshop on July 7 at 6:30PM! She’ll be in conversation with Shelley Blanton-Stroud. Get your tickets now to save your spot! ➡️ buff.ly/Q0X6BcN
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Middle age catches many women in the thick of things. Happiness can fall by the wayside by then. @washingtonkate.bsky.social got out of the U-shaped curve of unhappiness by reclaiming her joy through swimming. @califsun.bsky.social
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Kate Washington on how getting into cold water saved her life
Kate Washington spent years giving everything to everyone else — caregiving, motherhood, a failing marriage — until she was empty. Her answer was cold
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Excited to share the first review of Midstream (out 7/7)! www.publishersweekly.com/9780807023549
publishersweekly.com
Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims by Kate Washington
This openhearted memoir from Sacramento Bee food critic Washington (Already Toast) details her attempt to swim in 50 different l...
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
can't talk now omw to the zoo
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Reposted by Kate Washington
Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Diving into 🏊🏻‍♀️COVER REVEAL Friday🏊🏻‍♀️ with @washingtonkate.bsky.social! MIDSTREAM is her memoir of jumping feet first into a new life, reclaiming long-forgotten joys, and discovering a renewed sense of self after divorce. Watch this space in July! 👀 Cover design: Louis Roe
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
May I say, as the author of a forthcoming book about swimming in rivers and other natural bodies of water, we need some emoji to represent fresh water (rivers, creeks, whatnot) that are *not* the droplets. (Sure, my book is about midlife, but I know not to use those!)
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
My second book, Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims, comes out in five months! And it's available for preorder, at all the usual places as well as your local indie bookstore! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/816937...
penguinrandomhouse.com
Midstream by Kate Washington: 9780807023549 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A memoir of jumping feet first into a new life, reclaiming long-forgotten joys, and discovering a renewed sense of self after divorce, offering a fresh vision of midlife to women who have abandoned th...
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I was honored to be featured on The Caregivers Podcast, and blown away by the insight and thoughtfulness of the questions. The resulting interview goes deeper into the caregiver experience and burnout than perhaps any other I've done, and I'm delighted to share: share.transistor.fm/s/9754cc44
share.transistor.fm
Is Caregiving a Life Sentence? w/ Kate Washington | The Caregivers Podcast | Episode 19
In this episode of The Caregivers Podcast, author Kate Washington joins us to discuss her powerful memoir, Already Toast, and the invisible crisis of caregiver burnout. We explore the raw emotional re...
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Coming July 7, 2026: Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims. New title! New pub date! Same me in my same favorite river! (Taken at Hoyt's Crossing on the South Yuba.)
A green river surrounded by gray granite rocks, with a pair of feet wearing water sandals in the foreground and trees and blue sky in the background
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Claudia Koerner @claudiakoerner.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book
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The Shadow Over Innschwartz ✨🦑✨ @benschwartz.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
bring an air horn
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Excited to share my conversation with @reluctantcaregiver.bsky.social today! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
The Hidden Struggles of Caregiving and Dangers of Burnout
Podcast Episode · Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver · 02/18/2025 · 57m
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
We're finally dismantling the federal government! Sure hope it doesn't serve essential functions that I've taken for granted my whole life
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Jacob Kramer-Duffield @jaykaydee.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Okay, so. Things are very bad and dispiriting, but due to some kind of mental wiring I am systematically oriented to find hope and joy across time. And there is a particular piece of media I have revisited at many many times across my adult life in Bad Times for the World, and it's this. (1/n)
youtube.com
Candy Everybody Wants -- Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe
YouTube video by TheChris403
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
I had to update Word on my computer and now it's trying over and over to write my memoir for me with a new embedded AI feature, anyway the dystopia is fully here on all levels!
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
where do I sign
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Coming Summer 2026! I'm very excited to be working with the fantastic team at Beacon Press again on my second book, WATERSHEDS!
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Back in my hometown for the holiday, rented an Airbnb, flipped through the welcome binder--and discovered via the "historical information" section the owner included that the house's original owner was my great-great-grandfather!
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
The salmon are running in the American River and watching them is a balm for the soul (for Sac locals, I spotted these and many many many more yesterday at the Upper Sunrise river access)
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
I was in the mood for a real dramatic Netflix-based knock-down drag-out this Friday evening so obv I'm watching 1970s week on GBBO, complete with crème pat split like a bloody lip, choux flattened in the oven, etc
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Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD @kmpanthagani.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
I would love to tell you about the times vaccines prevented me from getting sick, but every time it happens, I don’t notice. I just keep feeling well. Neither do you. Public health, when it’s working, is invisible.
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Kate Washington @washingtonkate.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Yes. My grandfather had polio as an adult, just before the vaccine was developed, and I grew up hearing his and my mom's stories about his isolation and the disease's aftereffects (he was lucky and "only" had paralyzed abdominal muscles). The past is never dead; it's not even past.
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