Dr. Patricia Mechael weaves together an engaging and educational new middle grade book featuring a colorful cast of classmates that attempt to save their town from a corporate experiment gone wrong! The Antidotes: Pollution Solution (Bold Story Press, Oct. 4, 2022) by Patricia Mechael showcases a stimulating adventure for kids and touches on returning to normalcy after the global pandemic, the challenges of grief and co-parenting in an age-friendly way.

The Chesapeake Bay has become polluted by a stinky plastic-eating bacteria, pew yee! But fifth-grade friends Izi, Gir, and others take action together by forming an activist group called the Antidotes, and join forces with public health activists to find clean water solutions. The friends use STEM strategies to help save the earth from a potential disaster— they also have secret meetings, do a little spy work, and make some useful discoveries.

Along the way, they learn to embrace their differences, and discover that they are stronger when they all work together. The Antidotes race against the clock to get out the word to kids around the world about how to stay safe. But— will the Antidotes be able to get enough kids to achieve zero plastic use before it makes any more fish or kids sick? Join the Antidotes in their first science adventure, and stay tuned for more stories!

Dr. Patricia (Patty) Mechael: Recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Resident Fellowship, the British Council UK Education Social Impact Award and the John Hopkins University Knowledge for the World Distinguished Alumnus Award, Patty holds a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Master’s in Health Science in International Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
On top of being a public health specialist, Patty is also a mom and writer, who combines her passions for women, technology, science, and the world to inspire kids and adults through her writing. Drawing on her career in global health, Patty’s works wrestle with the toughest public health and societal issues of our time, including the environment, responsible technology and AI, pandemic preparedness and mental health.
She is recognized as a pioneer in the use of mobile and other technologies for health. Patty is co-founder and policy lead at HealthEnabled and has served as executive director of the mHealth Alliance and executive president of the Personal Connected Health Alliance. In addition, she is co-editor of mHealth in Practice: Mobile technology for health promotion in the developing world published by Bloomsbury, an editorial board member of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and a regular contributing author to AIMed’s quarterly journal. Patty has penned more than 100 publications on various aspects of public health and technology in scientific and health journals. Her writing draws on her more than 20 years of work across more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.