Voices from the Pandemic by Eli Saslow

VOICES FROM THE PANDEMIC by Eli Saslow is an impressive collection of first-person accounts from about 40 Americans.  Saslow, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for The Washington Post, notes, “Together these pieces tell the story of a country in crisis, but this book does not attempt to be a comprehensive history of the plague we are still living through.” After a brief chronology of the events in early 2020, he begins with commentary from Tony Sizemore, talking about Birdie Shelton’s death. I didn’t recognize the names, but I remember the faces and the story – sadly, those early deaths seemed so random and unfair and the media relayed them in detail – families not able to be together, not able to say goodbye in person. The next section is about the medical personnel and coroners feeling overwhelmed or more – again, a story that was often repeated – remember the banging of pots at night to say “thank you?” Then it was the lost jobs, no income or savings, the hunger and desperation. There are stories from patients who were intubated or who had long Covid, and from their families. Tales of tracking the numbers, of mask mandates, of eviction moratoriums, remote schooling, and vaccine trials. Covering March 2020 through January 2021, all of these stories are primary sources which future students will read and discuss – hopefully, these “Stories of Crisis, Courage and Resilience” will help to develop more empathy, caring, and pride for each other. VOICES FROM THE PANDEMIC received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal ("an essential resource"), and Publishers Weekly.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED by Charles Finch contains his “Notes on a Long Year,” one that none of us will easily forget. At the request of The Los Angeles Times, Finch kept a day-to-day journal and this is the edited version of that account. “Life is simple: Don’t go anywhere and be afraid.” He begins in March 2020 and continues through the lockdowns and scarcities, through the summer and George Floyd’s murder, through the January 6th Insurrection. It’s a personal, rather cynical and by necessity self-centered story (weren’t we all in our own bubbles?) while also being a universal tale of an incredible time. Finch is a gifted writer who evokes emotions – grief, anger, fear, and hope – for his adult readers. Interested student researchers could look for other texts on the pandemic in our collection, including Uncontrolled Spread and World War C.