Lee Daniel Kravetz

In 2009, the city of Palo Alto was rocked by an unusual series of teenage suicides. Then, in 2014, it happened again. The 10-year suicide rate for the area suddenly became between four and five times the national average. Kravetz, a journalist as well as a concerned resident of Palo Alto, decides to dig into how human acts, emotions and behaviors become contagious.

Though not riveting, this book gives the reader a lot to think about, beyond the scope of the Palo Alto suicides, with respect to human psychology, which never fails to be weird and fascinating. It was eye-opening to think of eating disorders and violence as contagious on a subconscious level, as well as the idea of different locations having varying tolerance levels toward violence in their communities, and troubling to consider that what is needed for a community or individual to cope/heal/process (awareness campaigns, support groups, etc.) is in itself simultaneously a spreader of contagion. I experienced a sudden jolt of panic when it finally clicked, a rather embarrassing three quarters of the way through the book, that I too am sending my child to a highly-ranked, potentially high-pressure school, which was certainly food for thought. I'm somewhat surprised that this tragic series of events had never been in my awareness before now, and I naturally became curious about what may have transpired in Palo Alto since the book's publication — thankfully, it seems not much. Nevertheless, I think my next book will have to be a somewhat light-hearted pick-me-up.… (mehr)