Sensory Strides #60 One Second After by William R. Forstchen.

Quote “The enemy will never attack you where you are strongest. … He will attack where you are weakest. If you do not know your weakest point, be certain, your enemy will,’ Charlie said.”

Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast.  Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.

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I recently finished One Second After by William R. Forstchen.  I heard about this book on Mac and Katherine Barron’s podcast, Catholic in a Small Town, during their entertainment section.  I’ve been on the waitlist for this book for nearly a year.  I expect I read this book much directly after our pandemic than I would have prior to the pandemic.

The book describes the events that happen after an EMP event which takes out all the electronics in the United States.  An EMP or Electromagnetic pulse is a potentially real threat that could happen, this isn’t just science fiction.

Reading this during the pandemic brings the issues we are facing into perspective.  The pandemic has changed the way we live, but it could be so much worse.  We still have internet and can communicate with others, plenty of food to fill our stomachs- think about how many people have taken up baking, medicine and healthcare are still readily available, and we can generally still travel wherever we want without fear.

Another interesting perspective I took from the book is access to food.  As a Midwesterner, a variety of fresh food is accessible, many people have home gardens, and I drive by fields of crops every day.  The insight the book gave me is because of fewer opportunities for growing crops and higher population, the central US truly feeds those on the coasts.  I hadn’t really thought about the work that goes into processing and shipping food across the country, even though my husband is a farmer and drives a semi.

There are very dark points of this book, which just reflect the true reality of what could happen.  I encourage you to read this book and consider how you would respond to the situation the book’s characters are presented with.  This book is a trilogy, but it seems like the next two books get more into the politics of what happens afterwards and I’m not sure I’m up for reading that at this point.

What books have you read that have made you think differently about your first world problems?

https://www.amazon.com/Second-After-John-Matherson-Novel/dp/0765327252

https://www.macandkatherine.com/

Thanks for joining me.  Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and …  don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

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