Is it to early to read a book about the Covid-19 pandemic? I don’t think so. March 2020 already feels like a lifetime away and this book really touched my heart.
Goodreads Blurb
Ward Nine: Coronavirus by Alys Morgan
Alys Morgan was admitted to hospital on the 19th of April, with an unexplained sickness which had rendered her too weak to move. The next day she was diagnosed with Covid-19 – though staff understood her symptoms as little as the virus itself.
This is one woman’s account of a pandemic no-one seemed prepared for – from the bed of a North-Wales hospital struggling to care for its multiplying patients. It’s a story of mothers and daughters, isolation and survival, love and loss. But most of all, it’s a testament to everything we owe those providing care – and comfort – on the new front line.
This memoir is based on diary entries originally published online as part of The Hearth Centre’s Tales of Lockdown series, and includes a Foreword from a Frontline Junior Doctor.
A portion of book receipts will be donated to Mind Conwy who continue to support those, like Alys, who have been affected by the pandemic.
Review
There have been so many ups and downs in the last year and a bit, and so many things have happened, I felt that I would have a sense of immunity (excuse the pun) to reading this book. How wrong I was. So many emotions come through this memoir: fear, anxiety, relief, loneliness, worry, love. I felt like I was reliving March 2020 again. I was very lucky that I never had Covid-19. However, the author’s words really helped me understand what it was like and how she was feeling at the time. I cried for her and for others and felt an overwhelming sense of relief when she was finally released from hospital.
It seems as if there was very little editing done to Ward Nine before its release. The language is basic, sometimes thoughts scattered, as if it was directly lifted from the author’s journal. I liked that. It would have lost its emotion if the words have been played with too much. It is a book like this, and not any scientific journal, that will really show future generations how it was to live during the Coronavirus pandemic. Thank you, Alys, for sharing your story.
If you are interested in reading Ward Nine, you can pick up a copy of the book here.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Joyful Antidotes 