The section on medication compliance was particularly meaningful to me. I notice it's sometimes easy for people working in healthcare to dismiss or look down on reasons for medication noncompliance (whether consciously or not). I've seen it on rounds, I've seen it when chatting with friends, I've seen it in movies and on TV. I sometimes joke that I, a goddamn friggen pharmacist, can't even take my multivitamin daily. But it's important for everyone to recognize that there are so so SO many reasons why medication compliance can be difficult (as John Green perfectly describes): societal/institutional barriers, access (location, supply, financial), side effects, mental illness, just plain old forgetting about it. Similarly to DOT therapy, I'm also thinking about those who go to methadone clinics and the stigma they face. "Just taking a pill" is not as easy as it sounds for some people and I needed to be reminded of this. Suddenly that little headache I get with my Wellbutrin sometimes doesn't seem so bad. It was really good for me to read this chapter; I truly feel grateful for what I have and where I work.

I did the audiobook for this and I loved John Green as the narrator. I am not usually a nonfiction girly but he just has an incredible way of weaving facts with storytelling. The Marco Polo section had me crying! It was very easy to listen to and understand and I finished this book in a day because of it.