Doctor Poets & Other Healers: COVID in Their Own Words

YEAR 2: COVID-19. The pandemic continues to rage worldwide—with the loss of human life in the U.S. alone
surpassing 800,000 in less than 24 months.
After the once-in-a-century invasion of the coronavirus hit the United States in 2020, our nation was weary and battered, with schools, churches, public places shut down and the economy sputtering. In the second year of the COVID-19 outbreak, the heroism and devotion of U.S. healthcare workers stood strong-- despite burnout, despite assaults by virus-deniers, anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, despite purveyors of misinformation that hobbled our nation’s recovery. In this ground-breaking anthology, 26 poets and essayists—physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, private caregivers, holistic practitioners, medical school students, and a hospital chaplain—share their personal experiences navigating the pandemic and our changed lives, tending to patients, dealing with loss, uncertainty, grief, and isolation, surviving in a world turned topsy-turvy, continuing the fight to save lives through resilience, selflessness, and the eternal flame of hope.