Overview

Who does the United States take care of and who does it leave behind? This is a riveting investigation of infectious disease, poverty, racism, and for-profit health care--and the harm caused by decades of silence. Growing up in a New Jersey factory town in the 1980s, Daisy Hern�ndez believed that her aunt had become deathly ill from eating an apple. No one in her family, in either the United States or Colombia, spoke of infectious diseases, and even into her thirties, she only knew that her aunt had died of a rare illness called Chagas. But as Hern�ndez dug deeper, she discovered that Chagas--or the kissing bug disease--is more prevalent in the United States than the Zika virus. Today, more than three hundred thousand Americans have Chagas. Why do some infectious diseases make headlines and others fall by the wayside? After her aunt's death, Hern�ndez begins searching for answers about who our nation chooses to take care of and who we ignore. Crisscrossing the country, she interviews patients, epidemiologists, and even veterinarians with the Department of Defense. She learns that outside of Latin America, the United States is the only country with the native insects--the kissing bugs--that carry the Chagas parasite. She spends a night in southwest Texas hunting the dreaded bug with university researchers. She also gets to know patients, like a mother whose premature baby was born infected with the parasite, his heart already damaged. And she meets one cardiologist battling the disease in Los Angeles County with local volunteers. The Kissing Bug tells the story of how poverty, racism, and public policies have conspired to keep this disease hidden--and how the disease intersects with Hern�ndez's own identity as a niece, sister, and daughter; a queer woman; a writer and researcher; and a citizen of a country that is only beginning to address the harms caused by Chagas and the dangers it poses. A riveting and nuanced investigation into racial politics and for-profit health care in the United States, The Kissing Bug reveals the intimate history of a marginalized disease and connects us to the lives at the center of it all.

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9781665020640

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Reviews

"The Kissing Bug is a deft mix of family archaeology, parasite detective story, and American reckoning. A much-needed addition to the canon. -- ""Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of When We Do Harm"" [An] engrossing account. -- ""Foreword Reviews"" A compelling indictment of our failing health care system and the people falling through its ever widening cracks. -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" A necessary read for anyone concerned about health crises across the world. -- ""Boston Globe"" An absolutely essential perspective on global migration, poverty, and pandemics. -- ""Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Bugs"" An engaging, eye-opening read for anyone looking to learn more about the human suffering caused by the collision of a parasite and years of neglect by the United States' medical system. -- ""Kris Newby, author of Bitten"" Hern�ndez expertly skates the line between memoir and science tome, showing the personal effects of a disease perpetuated by a cascade of systemic failures. -- ""Washington Post"" Hern�ndez knows the impact of Chagas disease...and what that reveals about how we treat working-class people. -- ""Bitch magazine"" Hern�ndez writes to the heart of the story with immense tenderness, compassion, and intelligence. A riveting read. -- ""Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana"" Narrator Frankie Corzo's...blend of American and Latinx dialects perfectly conveys Hernandez's bittersweet realization. -- ""AudioFile"" Part memoir, part investigative thriller...Her book shines a light on [a] neglected harm. -- ""San Francisco Chronicle"" This vivid, multidimensional account brings an ongoing medical injustice to light. -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"""

The Kissing Bug is a deft mix of family archaeology, parasite detective story, and American reckoning. A much-needed addition to the canon. -- Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of When We Do Harm [An] engrossing account. -- Foreword Reviews A compelling indictment of our failing health care system and the people falling through its ever widening cracks. -- Kirkus Reviews A necessary read for anyone concerned about health crises across the world. -- Boston Globe An absolutely essential perspective on global migration, poverty, and pandemics. -- Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Bugs An engaging, eye-opening read for anyone looking to learn more about the human suffering caused by the collision of a parasite and years of neglect by the United States' medical system. -- Kris Newby, author of Bitten Hernandez expertly skates the line between memoir and science tome, showing the personal effects of a disease perpetuated by a cascade of systemic failures. -- Washington Post Hernandez knows the impact of Chagas disease...and what that reveals about how we treat working-class people. -- Bitch magazine Hernandez writes to the heart of the story with immense tenderness, compassion, and intelligence. A riveting read. -- Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana Narrator Frankie Corzo's...blend of American and Latinx dialects perfectly conveys Hernandez's bittersweet realization. -- AudioFile Part memoir, part investigative thriller...Her book shines a light on [a] neglected harm. -- San Francisco Chronicle This vivid, multidimensional account brings an ongoing medical injustice to light. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author Information

Daisy Hern�ndez is a former reporter for the New York Times and has been writing about the intersections of race, immigration, class, and sexuality for almost two decades. She has written for National Geographic, NPR's All Things Considered and Code Switch, the Atlantic, Slate, and Guernica, and she's the former editor of Colorlines, a newsmagazine on race and politics. Hern�ndez is the author of the award-winning memoir A Cup of Water under My Bed and coeditor of Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism. She is an associate professor at Miami University in Ohio. Frankie Maria Corzo is a film and voice-over actress and audiobook narrator. She obtained a BA degree in theater studies from Montclair State University.

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