ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part considers how people deal with isolation and serious illness during the pandemic, the mental distress of migrating into the private sphere, and the impact of precarity and racial injustice on people’s lives during COVID. It considers her experiences of undergoing open-heart surgery just before COVID-19 hit. The part deals with the trauma she experienced after surgery helped her to cope with the impact that the pandemic had on her work and family life. It focuses on the theme of experiencing trauma due to other illnesses during COVID; in her case, stage 1A breast cancer. The part describes negotiating being at home with her son and partner during her research leave. It relates the life challenges she has faced as a student and an essential worker during the pandemic.
