In the Time of Coronavirus was born during the pandemic when I, as a New York City mental health provider and trauma expert, started a blog to fill a need. Inspired by clients, I saw a gap in support through unprecedented times. This book is a collection of essays from the pandemic to remind readers of the competence they acquired to get through difficulties. Each chapter begins with a photograph taken during the pandemic and ends with self-care tips. In the Time of Coronavirus is more than a self-help book, it's a testament of each reader's inner strength and ability to face what's ahead. The book takes a mindful approach with humor and compassion.
In the Time of Coronavirus was born during the pandemic when I, as a New York City mental health provider and trauma expert, started a blog to fill a need. Inspired by clients, I saw a gap in support through unprecedented times. This book is a collection of essays from the pandemic to remind readers of the competence they acquired to get through difficulties. Each chapter begins with a photograph taken during the pandemic and ends with self-care tips. In the Time of Coronavirus is more than a self-help book, it's a testament of each reader's inner strength and ability to face what's ahead. The book takes a mindful approach with humor and compassion.
Introduction
I had been a mental health provider for less than three years when I was called to work as a trauma specialist following 9/11. I was a New York psychotherapist who had trained in trauma counseling and was able to join the teams of national and international trauma counselors who came to New York City to work with victims' family members, witnesses, first responders, and survivors of the terrorist attacks. So, when the pandemic hit, I had twenty-five years of experience in working with trauma and loss. This comprehensive background provided a perspective on living through and supporting others in surviving the global health crisis.
I created a weekly blog to normalize our collective experiences while speaking of my observations and sharing self-care tips. The blog posts were personal in nature. I thought it was important to normalize what we were experiencing collectively, and what we were going through personally. It is a subjective record of those times, imperfect in nature and reflecting our flawed humanity. And, imperfect since we were all in uncertain spaces doing our best to navigate unprecedented events. I included self-care tips, because I heard from clients that they were at a loss as to how to get through their days and weeks with such strong emotions.Â
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In the Time of Coronavirus is the compilation of these blog posts with photographs I started taking the second week of March 2020. Each post is its own short chapter. I chose to share the blog posts as a book after attending a performance of Suzan-Lori Parks’s brilliant musical theater piece, “Plays for the Plague Year,” in which she documented each day with a short play. It was so inspiring. I saw the healing power of looking back on the shared days, weeks, months, and years we all endured. In the Time of Coronavirus recalls what we all went through, acknowledging readers’ ongoing courage and inner resources. And it provides many self-care tips that can be curated to fit each reader’s life going forward.Â
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It is my hope that you read In the Time of Coronavirus as a resource, a reflection, a remembrance, self-help, support, or in any way that is right for you.Â
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I wish I had come across Janet's blog during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though I live halfway across the world, the experiences she writes about are relatable, and the tips she offers to overcome everyday stressors are simple, yet effective.
What I liked most was how she was accepting of her shortcomings in behavior, speech, and thoughts due to the trying nature of social distancing. Yet, she was always exhorting herself (and others) to deal with it as best as they could and maintain important relationships. She says, "Pre-pandemic, I would get annoyed with myself, and maybe even defensive. Now, deep in the storm of COVID-19, I am amused by my foibles."
Being forced to live 24/7 in close quarters with people, even if they were family, can grate on one's patience.
I found this concept Janet shares in week 20--frustration budget--to be useful even now, when we are well out of the pandemic. In her words, "...I am going to assess what is a livable measure of frustration, and anything above that quotient will not be spent. I am not my best when I’m over stressed. And, then I circle back on annoyance with my mood and behavior, thus adding to my agitation level."
A highlight of the book is the personal photographs Janet adds to each chapter. They make the accounts of her life feel all the more real and relatable. I wish they were in color, though, for us to see the various hues and shades. However, the book needs to be formatted better and some of the photographs did not render properly in the PDF format. Also, it would help to have a table of contents in the beginning of the book.
As a reader, I can see the progression of emotions from hope to annoyance to acceptance to looking ahead for a better future. From week 1 to week 24, Janet talks about endurance, death, dealing with the mundane, increased anxiety, giving grace, and even enjoying simple pleasures like taking a walk in the woods (which becomes dangerous in a pandemic). Each week, she shares a series of self-care tips that are deceptively simple, but I have no doubt they have been immensely helpful for people reading the blog at the time.
Janet places a lot of focus on the calming and healing power of meditation. However, she writes about how even that fails on occasion--and how it's okay in the context of the pandemic. "Meditation takes time, too."
She also writes about being busy vs productive--something that has stayed with me. "For me, making a distinction between busyness and productivity is essential. Am I working hard so I don’t have to face something? Am I busy so that I can avoid feeling an unpleasant emotion? Or do I feel accomplished in what I’m doing? Can I be present while being active? These are the questions I ask myself as I run around both in and out of the moment."
Janet has put together a book that will inspire many people to maintain hope, give themselves grace, and make the best of a challenging situation over which they have no control. This is a book to keep and re-read as many times as necessary to remind yourselves of what is important.