Interview with Koye Oyerinde

Question 1: Koye, I need to say that I was impressed when I read through the description page of your book, Who Should We Let Die? How Health For All Failed, And How Not To Fail Again. How does this book come about? What inspired you to write Who Should We Let Die?

The book was inspired by my former students who seemed to wonder why I had unique and uncommon clarity about the determinants of healthcare outcomes in America and in the so-called developing world.

Question 2: I loved the title, Who Should We Should Let Die? It tells a lot about the heaviness of the content in the book. I am just curious; how did you select the title? Did you have other titles in mind for the book initially? If yes, how were you able to select this out of them?

The title came after many weeks of pondering about the essence of the book. When we, as clinicians, merely issue a prescription and move to the next patient without thinking about the overall context of how the patient will access the medicines, the homes they live in, safety, and the other things that make health possible, it implies that we don’t really care if they die or survive. It is that sort of thinking that led me to the title

Question 3: Who Should We Let Die was named one of IBR’s Impressive Indie Books of 2022, as well as the Best Read for the year as well. How does that make you feel?

It is indeed gratifying that some readers found what I wrote worthwhile. For me, it makes the Covid lockdown period not too bad, after all

Question 4: For readers who haven’t read Who Should We Let Die yet, and without giving much information away, could you tell us about some of the overarching themes and subject lines in the book?

The key takeaway is that health for all is possible if we truly make it a goal. No child should suffer or die because their families are poor and unable to afford health care services. Through taxes and levies of all sorts, governments must make payment for healthcare services at the point of need a thing of the past.

Question 5: How has your profession as a pediatrician and health policy expert influenced the making of this book?

As a child with several near-fatal battles with malaria who went on to become a pediatrician with a doctoral degree in health policy, and having worked in several countries and advised many ministries of health in Africa, Asia, and Pacific Islands, I bring all those experiences to bear on how I see healthcare. I think of many kids who didn’t survive malaria, malnutrition, and the other afflictions worsened by poverty. Surely, someone needs to speak up for them. Think even of the hardworking but poor folks. Shouldn’t they have access to healthcare services like anyone else?

Question 6: You know, Koye, one of the most interesting things to me as a writer is to listen to readers’ feedback. And you may want to agree with me that one of the things that makes literature to be complex in its entirety is the fact that it can be interpreted in different ways by different readers based on their opinions. Sometimes the readers might get the message intended by the author, sometimes, they might be close to getting it, sometimes they might be far from getting it, and sometimes they might hilariously misunderstand the message. As interestingly fun as it sounds, I would like to ask you, how do you feel when. readers interpret your work differently than you intended?

My book is really easy to read. The only not-so-positive feedback I have received was from people with an ideological resistance to caring for the have-nots. They think they succeeded through their own smarts and that everybody should take care of themselves.

Question 7: Apart from Who Should We Let Die, do you have any other works you’ve author, or currently working on?

I have a book that’s still brewing, yet untitled, about experiences as a doctor; things that look funny now but weren’t so funny in the heat of the moment. It should be a more lighthearted read

Question 8: Could you tell us what publishing is like for a published author like yourself? Are there any challenges you’ve encountered in the process of writing this book and ever since you got published?

I think the greatest challenge is marketing the book. Marketing doesn’t come naturally to me. My work has always spoken for itself, but authorship needs more than hoping the content will sell the book.

Question 9: As a published author, what sort of advice do you have for writers who are still struggling with publishing a book?

I’d say, keep writing; don’t give up until you have put all your thoughts on paper. Revise and revise until you are ready to share it with the world. Of course, get a good editorial team to help finesse your writing and point out blind spots in your thinking and writing.

Question 10: Where can readers get a copy of your book?

I would be very diligent when researching self-publishers, certainly more diligent than I was for my second book. I thought I did decent research. But, in hindsight, I guess the name of the outfit should have been my first clue: Amazon Publishing Pro. Now, that’s a little shady. I knew damn well they were not THE Amazon. They were just piggybacking on that name. They were more interested in the social media campaign than giving me a clean, edited version of my manuscript. I ended up firing them and not getting my money back.

Then, I went to the publisher of my memoir, She Writes Press.

The reason I did not go to She Writes Press originally was because I had assumed that my new book was not up their alley. As it turns out, it is. But Brooke wants so many changes that I basically have to go back to the drawing board and do more research, including conducting more interviews, which I am currently doing.

Readers can find my book on Amazon.