In early 2020, few Indians watching the COVID-19 pandemic unfold globally may have thought about it spreading across India. As the COVID-19 cases started rising, the Indian government declared a 3-week lockdown in March 2020 and followed it up with four more over the next six months. India had the most stringent lockdown globally for most of 2020 and this book looks closely at the lives of Indians during that year. In 2020, video calling apps enabled people to interact professionally and personally and became the biggest saviors. Shopping became an expedition and exercising an adventure as the Indian lockdown did not allow most outdoor activities. The author heard the world’s loudest insect in his community when the lockdown stopped all activity. This book documents many such wondrous natural phenomena that the author observed when nature was in free flow in absence of human interference. The author’s kaleidoscopic coverage paints a fascinating picture of his life in a pandemic year. In a year that saw postponement of the Olympics by a year, a race was on to develop a COVID-19 vaccine with more than 100 vaccine candidates in line for use in 2021. My Life in a Pandemic is a great chronicle of the 21st century’s first pandemic that dramatically reshaped human history.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower—a riveting thriller and “all-too-convincing chronicle of science, espionage, action and speculation” (The Wall Street Journal). At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with acute hemorrhagic fever. When epidemiologist Henry Parsons travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will have staggering repercussions. Halfway across the globe, the deputy director of U.S. Homeland Security scrambles to mount a response to the rapidly spreading pandemic leapfrogging around the world, which she believes may be the result of an act of biowarfare. And a rogue experimenter in man-made diseases is preparing his own terrifying solution. As already-fraying global relations begin to snap, the virus slashes across the United States, dismantling institutions and decimating the population. With his own wife and children facing diminishing odds of survival, Henry travels from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia to his home base at the CDC in Atlanta, searching for a cure and for the origins of this seemingly unknowable disease. The End of October is a one-of-a-kind thriller steeped in real-life political and scientific implications, filled with the insight that has been the hallmark of Wright’s acclaimed nonfiction and the full-tilt narrative suspense that only the best fiction can offer.

What might the world look like in the aftermath of COVID-19? Almost every aspect of society will change after the pandemic, but if we learn lessons then life can be better. Featuring expert authors from across academia and civil society, this book offers ideas that might put us on alternative paths for positive social change. A rapid intervention into current commentary and debate, Life After COVID-19 looks at a wide range of topical issues including the state, co-operation, work, money, travel and care. It invites us to see the pandemic as a dress rehearsal for the larger problem of climate change, and it provides an opportunity to think about what we can improve and how rapidly we can make changes.

This poetic diary recounts one mother's struggle to contend with the pandemic's losses and accept its gifts. When the coronavirus threatened to take away everything, Amy Suardi began to record a life that suddenly felt more precious. Amidst the distress of lockdown and the trials of finding herself running a school with her five children, it was often the ordinary domestic moments that were the most poignant. Suardi's journal-keeping, in the form of micro-memoirs, poems, and short essays, turned into a discovery of hidden beauty and how even the smallest things can be openings into deeper, larger worlds. Originally published on her webpage Painting with Words, these pieces bring together the first seven months of the pandemic and include Suardi's experience of marching for racial justice, witnessing high school end for her daughter without prom, graduation, or even hugs, and dropping her off at a hollowed-out Covid-era college campus. Sometimes light-hearted, sometimes meditative, Suardi's writing has been noted for its "gentleness intertwined with intensity of emotion" and its "keen perception of the moment observed." Whether the works are read individually or together, this genre-defying collection creates a pointillist portrait of one woman's experience of what was lost in the pandemic, and perhaps most of all, what was found.

Shivya Nath quit her corporate job at age twenty-three to travel the world. She gave up her home and the need for a permanent address, sold most of her possessions and embarked on a nomadic journey that has taken her everywhere from remote Himalayan villages to the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador. Along the way, she lived with an indigenous Mayan community in Guatemala, hiked alone in the Ecuadorian Andes, got mugged in Costa Rica, swam across the border from Costa Rica to Panama, slept under a meteor shower in the cracked salt desert of Gujarat and learnt to conquer her deepest fears. With its vivid descriptions, cinematic landscapes, moving encounters and uplifting adventures, The Shooting Star is a travel memoir that maps not just the world but the human spirit.

“I CAN’T BREATHE!” These were the last words of more than a half-million people in America who contracted the deadly Coronavirus. Ironically, they were also among the last words of Mr. George Floyd, an African-American man murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer who knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. Was it merely a coincidence that these same words were uttered in both instances? Was there a connection on some deeper, abstract level that should have served as a wake-up call for the United States of America? In 2020, two deadly viruses swept the nation: a new virus known as “COVID-19” and one centuries-old virus called “Racism.” The Fight of My Life: The Coronavirus: A Dance with the Devil is an inspirational tale of one man’s fight and path to victory over two invisible and deadly enemies.

A masterclass to build self-trust, beat self-doubt and make your boldest aspirations a reality. Does fear hold you back? We all have moments when we succumb to doubt and let our fears call the shots. Each time they do, we limit our lives. It’s why learning to trust in ourselves is crucial to rising above our biggest challenges and enjoying true happiness and success — in our careers, relationships, leadership and life. Written with heart and humour but grounded in research, You’ve Got This! is a handbook for unleashing our untapped potential and passion, creativity and courage, to thrive in today’s uncertain world. Filled with compelling stories and hard-won wisdom, author Margie Warrell draws on her background in business, coaching and doctoral studies as well as her challenges raising four children while living and working around the world. Applying the practical advice and twelve powerful principles in this book will help you: Defy negative self-talk and take the bold actions you’ve been putting off Become your greatest cheerleader, not your loudest critic Embrace vulnerability and trust your intuition Combat stress and thrive amid uncertainty Amplify your power as a leader and ‘change maker’ Hailed as a “high five to the human spirit”, You’ve Got This! is a must-read for everyone, from seasoned leaders, to those embarking on their adult lives, and anyone in between who just needs encouragement to rise to their take that leap. When we trust ourselves to handle anything, it liberates us for everything.