In the fall of 2021, Dr. Julie Ponesse saw her academic career of 20 years fall apart after she refused a Canadian university's COVID vaccine mandate. This is her account of the battle and its aftermath, written with passion and intelligence. But Dr. Ponesse's story travels beyond the personal and examines the ethical and philosophical dimensions of our pandemic response.

If there is anyone out there who feels alone in the struggle to preserve personal choice and freedom, this book offers some very human advice on how to move forward and makes it clear that your voice deserves to be heard.

Dr. Julie Ponesse was a professor of Ethics at Huron University College. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from Western University and a Masters in Bioethics from the University of Toronto. She has published widely in the areas of ancient philosophy, ethical theory, and applied ethics, and has taught throughout Canada and the US for the past twenty years.

Julie Ponesse's profile page

“Dr. Ponesse’s personal story and her deep dive into all the ethical questions surrounding this pandemic are poignant reminders of the classical liberal world we are leaving behind and the dark authoritarian world that is emerging in its place. But Dr. Ponesse’s courageous stand and her uncompromising love of ffreedom provide us with a much-needed example of how to reverse the tide.”

—JULIUS RUECHEL, author of Autopsy of a Pandemic

“One day, it’ll be clear that those few who resisted the authoritarian insanity of 'COVID,' and suffered for it, were entirely in the right, while those who jeered and slandered them were wrong. For her bravery and lucidity, and her exemplary humanity, Julie Ponesse will stand out among the very few professors in that noble number.”

—MARK CRISPIN MILLER, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University

“Julie Ponesse is an inspiration — a modern-day Socrates who was unafraid to stand up for the truth and to question authority, even at the cost of losing the job she loved. Her book is essential reading not just for those interested in the ethical debates around vaccine mandates, but for anyone who is concerned about the dark turn Western civilization seems to have taken in response to the pandemic. Her book and example are a source of light in the encircling gloom, pointing us towards a freer, safer, and more hopeful future.”

—NICK MCBRIDE, author of The Humanity of Private Law