Book Review: Tips, Tools, and Anecdotes during a Pandemic by Joanna J. Charnas

One of the more recent publications by one of my favorite authors, fellow blogger, and sister “spoonie,” Joanna Charnas, delivers a string of useful tips and tricks for effectively managing anxiety and stress while living in this new world plagued by a communicable disease. The advice offered in Charnas’ new book, entitled Tips, Tools, and Anecdotes to Help during a Pandemic, acts as a simple and pragmatic guidebook for healthy living in a global pandemic by centering on skills that build both physical and mental resiliency. For instance, practicing mindfulness while systematically acting out your morning routine or changing your perspective to focus on the positive aspects of a situation can significantly improve one’s outlook or perspective on a given event, even if the situation may have been difficult to handle overall. Sounds simple, right? That is because it is! Unfortunately, as humans, we are biologically wired to focus primarily on the negative aspects of a given situation as an evolutionary defense mechanism for self-preservation when facing either a real or perceived threat of harm (Hanson, 2013). Nevertheless, this book delivers an ample number of reminders to help readers gracefully and consciously navigate an assortment of novel challenges that are common in the modern world, including those common to Coronavirus or COVID-19.

What I love most about this book was the fact that Charnas not only offers solutions for managing difficult times, but she also supports each one of these practices with personal stories that include how she put each tool to use in her own daily routine. I’m honestly still fascinated by how many habits and synchronicities I had in common with the author, but I also discovered a ton of new ideas that I’d like to add to my own schedule and routine to make things a little bit easier on myself at the same time. Overall, I recommend reading Tips, Tools, and Anecdotes to Help during a Pandemic because it is quick, easy, and highly relatable with an abundance of tips, tricks, tidbits, reminders, and stories of how to effectively pilot individual or collectivist crises – both in and out of a major pandemic – by simply applying techniques of meditation, mindfulness, positivity, and basic stress reduction practices in order to create a much happier and healthier way of living via homeostasis.