As a middle-schooler, I read “The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story” by Richard Preston, a nonfiction thriller about Ebola. I was instantly hooked. For a brief moment, I wanted to go into epidemiology or infectious disease research, drawn by the harrowing human stories and the sense of mystery.

I went into journalism instead, which was probably for the best for everyone, but the book has always stayed with me. So I recently begged Krutika Kuppalli, the brilliant infectious disease physician who has been writing about Ebola for STAT, to weigh in on “The Hot Zone.”

Krutika writes that, like me, she was inspired by the book — but unlike me, she stuck with it, eventually running Ebola treatment units and caring for patients during the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa.

“Although my understanding of Ebola has changed profoundly over the years, I still recognize the important role ‘The Hot Zone’ played in drawing a generation of physicians, scientists, and public health professionals into this field,” she writes. “At the same time, the book left behind an image of Ebola that continues to shape public perception today. It is an image of an unstoppable virus that spreads effortlessly, kills nearly everyone it infects, and threatens anyone who comes near it. It is compelling storytelling, but also an incomplete picture.”

Alas, Krutika (quite reasonably) has not given in to my requests that she write about the rather campy 1995 movie “Outbreak,” in which a fictionalized version of Ebola makes its way to the U.S. I’m a sucker for the intersection of medicine and culture (though I have to say I am full up on pieces on “The Pitt”).

Recommendation of the week: If you’re looking for a beach read as we head into summer in earnest, check out “The Wedding People,” by Alison Espach, a fast-paced but not dumb novel about a woman who heads to a fancy hotel during a personal crisis and finds herself adopted by a very wealthy bride who needs a friend.