Dr. Will Cooke began his medical practice in 2004 in tiny Austin, Ind. Little did he know the devastation he would find as a result of the opioid addiction crisis and beyond.

Motivated by his Christian faith, he worked to raise awareness about the crisis and help his community face not only the medical crises but the social inequities that lead to greater suffering. He details his struggles in his book Canary in the Coal Mine: A Forgotten Rural Community, A Hidden Epidemic, and a Lone Doctor Battling for the Life, Health, and Soul of the People (Tyndale, May).

In it, Dr. Cooke “offers a roadmap of hope for anyone concerned about our nation’s preparedness to deal with ever more deadly outbreaks of disease and dysfunction,” says Jan Long Harris, executive publisher at Tyndale.

PW spoke with Dr. Cooke about why Christians must couple compassion for their neighbors with actions to build a healthy society.

(This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.)

Why did you decide to write Canary in the Coal Mine now?

There are underlying warning signals present in communities across the country and the world, and if we ignore them we continue to be at risk for these sorts of events (such as the ongoing opioid crisis and current pandemic). Writing the book helped me re-digest these ideas and come to grips with the notion that we have a social responsibility to each other. As Christians, if we’re only here on earth to secure our own salvation, that feels every egocentric. We are to love and give grace to our neighbors.

How does the epidemic you faced in Austin speak into the Covid-19 epidemic we now face?

These healthcare disasters have revealed our nation’s character. Many of us have been disturbed to find that we are a nation of inequity unrivaled in the developed world. The point I make in the book is that these diseases and disasters do not cause disproportionate suffering, they reveal preexisting, deeply-rooted socioeconomic and racial health disparities. However, these moments also provide an opportunity to confront uncomfortable realities and respond in actionable ways to intentionally change for the better. I believe my book has a message the nation needs now more than ever.

Are the same communities so impacted by the opioid crisis the same ones now being disproportionately impacted by the current pandemic?

People of color and poor whites have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas poor whites have been most impacted by the opioid crisis. What is similar is the disproportionate share of suffering these communities bear in America. The title, Canary in the Coal Mine, is meant as a warning that populations with inequitable distribution of resources strikingly correlates with clusters of disease, disability, and early death.

What did you learn from the opioid crisis that can be applied to the Covid-19 crisis?

The blind eye of disease and disaster take no notice of our differences. We do that. How much life a person has access to should not depend on their zip code, race, or socioeconomic status. As I have learned, we can and must do better. Last year, Covid-19 stole people’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness in a way that has not been experienced in over a century due to the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and a world war. We must resist the temptation to simply return to a more comfortable life.

Should churches, which are now being called on to help dispel fear and encourage vaccinations against Covid-19, have a role to play in helping people fight addictions?

Absolutely! Working with people who use drugs has taught me that when basic human needs go unmet, people resort to behaviors they themselves hate. We don’t have to agree with someone’s behaviors to love and protect them from harm. I share how I discovered that by showing empathy and compassion to people living desperate lives, the strange and frightening sense of “other” melted away. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that lasting change comes from godly love. That’s something the church can offer people in need, including those who use drugs.