By Russell S. Abrams
I spoke this morning to one of my partners. A fella that is one of the most optimistic and energetic lawyers I have known. Except he wasn’t himself on this occasion, and I asked him right away if he was getting worn down by all the bad news and continual predictions of “worst case scenarios.” I knew his answer would be yes because I am feeling the same way, as is everyone else I have spoken with.
We all deal with crises differently, and we all have different tools available to each of us to assist in handling the stresses and upheaval of events such as the COVID-19 turmoil. Let me recommend a two-pronged counterattack for you and your friends: book club.
That’s right, you heard me. Book club.
At the beginning of 2020, the Charleston County Bar Association formed its first wellness-related book club for any interested members. Our group is small but made up of interesting and interested people. Our leader, Michael Abro of the Charleston School of Law, selected our first book: Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson. We divided the book into three sections and had a meeting after completing each of the first two sections. We were derailed on the third by social distancing mandates.
Why is this a two-pronged countermeasure? First, you may, as we did, select a book on mental and emotional wellness, a topic that may prove useful in these stressful times.
Second, and likely of more significant impact, it is a reason to reach out to friends and colleagues to engage in an activity together and to maintain some level of social contact. While you can’t all eat from the same cheese plate and drink from the same bottle, it is possible to have a weekly conference call in the late afternoon to discuss the selected reading.
Those who want cheese, eat it. Those who want wine, drink it. Whatever improves the discourse.
The point is to enjoy being, at least virtually, in the presence of your friends and colleagues during a stressful time, all while learning and focusing on something different from what is dominating the news cycle. Don’t let distancing turn into isolation.
Russ Abrams is a partner at K&L Gates LLP in Charleston.