Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary

In December 2019, Timothy Snyder nearly died from a series of medical misdiagnoses and a burst appendix that led to sepsis. Writing from his hospital bed, he connects his physical collapse to the failures of the American healthcare industry. He argues that healthcare is a human right necessary for a functioning democracy. Snyder examines how profit-driven commercial medicine, characterized by "hospitalists" who lack personal connection to patients and the prioritization of digital bureaucracy over physical symptoms, erodes individual liberty. He asserts that a state cannot be free if its citizens are constantly immobilized by preventable illness or the fear of medical bankruptcy.

This book is intended for readers interested in the intersection of public policy, bioethics, and political philosophy. It appeals to those who want to understand how administrative choices in medicine influence the social contract. Readers gain a framework for viewing physical health as a prerequisite for political participation rather than a market commodity. By engaging with this critique of the United States medical system, the audience learns to identify how systemic inefficiencies and high mortality rates contribute to the broader destabilization of democratic institutions.