Dr. Bonnie Henry, “one of the most effective public health figures in the world” (The New York Times), earned accolades in 2020 for her consistent, calm, empathetic, and science-based public health strategy in the face of COVID 19, embodied in the phrase “Be kind, be calm, be safe.” This is the story of the four key weeks in spring during which British Columbia flattened the curve while other places struggled, and of the challenging weeks in summer when the infection returned with a vengeance.

This is not only a medical story; it's a personal story punctuated by moments of gravity and grace. Public health officials are required to make personally agonizing decisions in the face of incomplete information and competing health priorities; we glimpse the private deliberations behind policies that affect millions.

This is a universal story about how we make decisions (and who makes them) in times of great upheaval; the nuances of communication, leadership, and public trust; the balance between politics and policy; and what and whom we value, as individuals and a society. It's also about Henry’s deceptively simply slogan, and what it requires from all of us to “be kind, be calm, be safe.”