This edited collection highlights how people connected with friends and family, students and colleagues, and leaders and communities, in their quest to persevere during the pandemic. The chapters describe how people enjoyed their passions for the arts in new and unexpected ways, given the restrictions of COVID-19 safety protocols, and how scripted and reality television programming helped them escape, however briefly, from the traumas of the pandemic, the racial injustice, the political machismo and divisiveness of this time. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of communication, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, and gender studies.

In March 2020, as a pandemic began to ravage our world, writer and professor B. J. Hollars started a collaborative writing project to bridge the emotional challenges created by our physical distancing. Drawing upon Emily Dickinson’s famous poem “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” Hollars called on Wisconsinites to reflect on their own glimpses of hope in the era of COVID-19. The call resulted in an avalanche of submissions, each reflecting on hope’s ability to persist and flourish, even in the darkest times. As the one hundred essays and poems gathered here demonstrate, hope comes in many forms: a dad dance, a birth plan, an unblemished banana, a visit from a neighborhood dog, the revival of an old tradition, empathy. The contributors are racially, geographically, and culturally diverse, representing a rough cross section of Wisconsin voices, from truck driver to poet laureate, from middle school student to octogenarian, from small business owner to seasoned writer. The result is a book-length exploration of the depth and range of hope experienced in times of crisis, as well as an important record of what Wisconsinites were facing and feeling through these historic times.

The Great Pause is a children’s picture book that honours the magnitude of the pandemic experience and its shared impact. With the book’s themes of perseverance, patience, gratitude, mindfulness, and compassion, it reflects on the human experience of COVID-19: all that was lost and found when we were called upon to change everything about our way of being. In a vivid yet sensitive way, the book illustrates how life suddenly and radically changed for all of us. For middle-grade children, The Great Pause will help them gain a better understanding of the pandemic. For adults, it is a vehicle for reflection on this remarkable time in our history. The Great Pause is intended for independent reading and reflection but aims to support parents and guardians when helping children to understand the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic. Balancing the severity of our shared circumstances with the magnitude of the pandemic’s reach, The Great Pause delicately, yet powerfully, encapsulates the experience. A timely contribution to classroom curriculums and discussions about this historic and life-changing event.

During any rapidly changing situation, loss of daily routine, isolation, and uncertainty can lead to anxiety, fear, depression, and loneliness. Dr. Stephen Bond, a Social Studies teacher at Wilson Preparatory Academy in Wilson, North Carolina, spoke with his students via email and text during the COVID-19 crisis that ended the 2020 school year and discovered many were feeling these emotions. Dr. Bond let them know that it was OK to be upset. He encouraged them to come to him and their parents with any new questions about the virus, and he asked his students to express their feelings. This phenomenal book, jam-packed with challenging activities like word searches, crossword puzzles, and colorful drawings by the talented Illustrator Anthony Mercer, covers what Dr. Bond's students had to say and more.

ABOUT THE BOOK After reading the draft manuscript of this book, Rev. Mary Ramerman astutely observed, "When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, we were asked to observe social distance and stay home. Vacations, weddings, trips to the mall, dinners out, and baseball games all ended. We were literally sent to our rooms to reflect on how we lived our lives and what mattered most to us." The collective wisdom presented in this anthology provides answers to those two important questions. Writers offer a wealth of ideas, shared wisdom, action steps, inspiring stories, and candid looks at real-life situations. The reader will find insights that come from the other side of pain, in people and events affirming hope, perseverance and resilience, as well as a candid record of life in the early days of this pandemic and the challenges before us.

Once upon a time, there was something called the sun …In a kingdom ruled by a witch, the sun is just part of a legend about Light-filled days of old. But now Siria Nightingale is headed to the heart of the darkness to try and restore the Light—or lose everything trying. Sixteen-year-old Siria Nightingale has never seen the sun. That’s because Queen Iyzabel shrouded the kingdom in shadow upon her ascent to the throne, with claims it would protect her subjects from the dangerous Light. The Darkness has always left Siria uneasy, and part of her still longs for the stories of the Light-filled days she once listened to alongside her best friend Linden, told in secret by Linden’s grandfather. But Siria’s need to please her strict and demanding parents means embracing the dark and heading to the royal city—the very center of Queen Izybel’s power—for a chance at a coveted placement at court. And what Siria discovers at the Choosing Ball sends her on a quest toward the last vestiges of Light, alongside a ragtag group of rebels who could help her restore the sun … or doom the kingdom to shadow forever. Ignite the Sun?is: A YA fantasy adventure with a unique take of the light versus dark trope An allegorical exploration of the struggle with anxiety and depression Perfect for readers 13 and up A great gift for Christmas, birthday, or other gift giving holidays of young adult readers A good book club pick or cozy winter read

This memoir tells the story of Georgia physician Dhaval Desai's life during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a new father, frontline physician and healthcare leader on the brink of burnout, and a member of an ethnic minority in the South, his tale is marked by chaotic intersections. Throughout, his commitment to fostering and advocating for caring and compassion in the practice of medicine shines as Desai shares his unique perspective.