ABSTRACT
Part I begins in late January, 2020, and covers a period that lasts roughly through the end of May. It emphasizes how, amidst undeniable catastrophe, my patients develop coping strategies and even learn to cultivate hope. They write songs and poems that become cathartic; they learn languages that connect them with tradition; they recover enough self-confidence to return to work. Doctors, suffering from guilt and burnout, reconstruct a sense of mission in the face of apparent hopelessness. In effect, these people equip themselves to keep going. They step onto the narrow, shaky bridge of this pandemic (towards no one quite knows where) but they do not look down. They think they will get to the other side, but accept the idea of not knowing where they will emerge. Part I examines the uncertainty of the moment and also as a component of plagues throughout history.
