Breath of Life: stories of asthma from an exhibition at the National Library of Medicine

grams. Finally, “going public” may mean subjecting public health efforts to open scrutiny and criticism, with the intent of improving and refining future efforts. I would like to thank my colleagues at the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine for volunteering to undergo such scrutiny and criticism. The Breath of Life exhibition is timely and important, as asthma is clearly a public health priority, especially in disadvantaged urban populations. The exhibition’s emphasis on the medical and human history of asthma reflects its origins in the History of Medicine Division. Much as the Witness exhibition is horrifyingly relevant to contemporary discourse on racism, an understanding of the history of asthma with its 4 overlapping perspectives— “asthma as a primary disorder of the lungs, an allergic condition, a disease associated with environmental irritants, and a disease linked to emotional distress”—is not only useful but essential in understanding current efforts to manage, prevent, and cure the disease. The author of the review, Ruth Levy Guyer, is not, strictly speaking, a public health professional, but a writer and medical ethicist who happens to hold a PhD in immunology. Her criticisms, along with those of other reviewers, will be weighed and incorporated into the materials produced for the traveling exhibition of Breath of Life. This means that a larger audience will be able to benefit from the exhibition and from its willingness to undergo critical analysis. A final point worth noting is that the Breath of Life exhibition is a collaborative effort of the National Library of Medicine; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Collaborating is never the easy route, but joining forces is key to effecting change. If public health issues are to win supporters and garner the resources they deserve, it is imperative that we “go public” with our causes in innovative and creative ways and capture the imaginations of broad constituencies. If not now, when?