Debunk with Empathy - by Wan Naszeerah (Paperback)

About the Book

Your go-to guide for difficult health conversations with those who matter most

Book Synopsis

Vaccines. Abortion. Mental Health. Conversations about health topics like these often stir deep emotions, challenge beliefs, and-most concerning of all-test relationships.

Whether you're a parent trying to protect your family, a caregiver facing tough decisions, a grieving friend searching for the right words, or a healthcare professional dealing with life-or-death matters, you've felt the strain of difficult health conversations.

In Debunk with Empathy, Wan Naszeerah-a Nusantara infodemiologist and public health advocate-offers a fresh approach to these challenges. Drawing from her lived experiences as a stateless-born Malay woman raised amidst the Nusantara's plurality of traditional and modern healing practices, and her education at Yale and UC Berkeley, Wan invites readers to embrace empathy-not as a buzzword, but as a skill rooted in the hati, the heart-mind connection central to Nusantara wisdom.

Through practical tools, psychology-backed strategies, and heartfelt stories from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, Debunk with Empathy will show you how to:

• Uncover hidden barriers that make discussing health topics so challenging-and discover how empathy can overcome these roadblocks.
• Build trust in emotionally charged discussions by calming tensions, addressing power dynamics, and responding to deeply held beliefs.
• Transform conflict into connection with adaptable strategies that shift perspectives, manage uncertainty, and address emotional complexity.

This is not just a book about communication-it's a guide to creating meaningful, healing conversations. Debunk with Empathy will help you build healthier relationships, deepen understanding, and confidently approach life's most vital dialogues.

Review Quotes

"Drawing on personal stories and cultural insights, Naszeerah shows how understanding, not just facts, is key to tackling misinformation and connecting with others. A must-read for anyone looking to improve their approach to health discussions." - Professor Nuurrianti Jalli, PhD, Assistant Professor of Strategic Communications

"Wan Naszeerahʼs book brings us a new model for understanding vaccine disinformation and misinformation. It will become required reading for my public health graduate students." - Professor John Swartzberg, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

"Naszeerah's book reminds us that even the most seasoned professional comes to health conversations with personal beliefs, biases, and experiences, and emphasizes the universal importance of empathy." - Dr. Becky White, PhD, Director, Reach Health Promotion Innovations

"Public health has a marketing challenge. This book tackles the core issues within the field and explores the necessary steps to bridge the gap between public health initiatives and everyday engagement." - Dr. Michelle Larson, PhD, MPA, Public Health Preparedness Expert and Lecturer at University of California, Berkeley

"Heart-felt and deeply personal, Wan shares her stories and hard-earned lessons so we too might have more effective conversations and deeper relationships with those who matter most to us, especially on thorny topics that can be divisive-like health." - Melissa Kong, MChem, MBA, Consultant at Edgility Consulting