Women of the Pandemic: Stories from the Frontlines of COVID-19

by Lauren McKeon

The story of the pandemic is the story of women. This riveting narrative offers an account of COVID-19, reminding us of women's leadership and resilience, reflecting back hope and humanity as we all figure out a new normal, together.

Throughout history, men have fought, lost, and led us through the world's defining crises. That all changed with COVID-19. In Canada, women's presence in the response to the pandemic has been notable. Women are our nurses, doctors, PSWs. Our cashiers, long-haulers, cooks. In Canada, women are leading the fast-paced search for a vaccine. They are leading our provinces and territories. At home, they are leading families through self-isolation, often bearing the responsibility for their physical and emotional health. They are figuring out what working from home looks like, and many of them are doing it while homeschooling their kids. Women crafted the blueprint for kindness during the pandemic, from sewing masks to kicking off international mutual-aid networks. And, perhaps not surprisingly, women have also suffered some of the biggest losses, bearing the brunt of our economic skydive.
Through intimate portraits of Canadian women in diverse situations and fields, Women of the Pandemic is a gripping narrative record of the early months of COVID-19, a clear-eyed look at women's struggles, which highlights their creativity, perseverance, and resilience as they charted a new path forward during impossible times.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Medical, Canada, Audiobook, Feminism, Mental Health

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2021

About the author

Lauren McKeon is an award-winning editor and writer. She is the former editor of This Magazine and a contributing editor at Toronto Life. Her essays have appeared in Hazlitt, Flare, the Walrus, and Reader's Digest, and she has spoken on gender issues at conferences and seminars and on radio and television broadcasts. She teaches at Humber College.

Reviews

[Enid Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

In as much as I enjoyed the content, I found the author’s title from last year - No More Nice Girls - to be a real slog to read, so went into this one with much reservation. In addition to that this is about the pandemic - and frankly I don’t want to read anything about the pandemic, I want to escape from the pandemic, including in what I read - it all meant that I set to reading this was some degree of reservation. How pleasantly surprised I was!

While I will admit that I skimmed over some of the ‘factual’ content as it related to the pandemic I found myself thoroughly taken - indeed quite riveted - with the individual stories of the women, of the behind the scenes activity, action, ingenuity, creativity and sacrifice - both personal and professional - that has gotten us to where we are now.

This title is a road map of all of our broken social contracts… It’s like sitting listening to testimony at an inquiry... and, as such, it can provide a road map to what we need to be doing to come out the other side of this.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to this book now, over five years since the start of the pandemic, was actually perfect. The book was written in and captures a moment in time. As the author says, even as early as 2021, “These are the ways in which we practice our own forgetting. It isn’t always malicious, but it is usually unwise.” The stories and interviews that give us the experiences of individual women, within a structure that gathers them together and highlights areas ranging broadly across woman’s roles and challenges both professional and personal. The last chapter and epilogue were both very good too, does not just end with no reflection or call (to remember, to honor, to action). Also - the author and focus from Canada was interesting.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book manages to, in an incredibly succinct way, peel back the covers on some of the lesser known groups rising up during the pandemic. From vaccine developers, epidemiologist, house keepers, small business owners, new immigrants, students, doctors and more, it really helped me to shift my ego centric view and see how privileged I am during this insane time.

[melhara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It became clear that the story of the pandemic would be different for women. That, in many ways, the story of the pandemic was the story of women.

This book details how women have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on women of colour in Canada.

In Canada, women comprise 81 per cent of healthcare workers. Notably, they make up the vast majority of nurses, social workers, and personal support workers (PSWs). Beyond the healthcare front line, the New York Times estimated that one in three jobs held by women had been designated as essential during nation-wide shutdowns, and that racialized women, specifically, held more essential jobs than anybody else. Throughout the pandemic, these women were tasked with keeping our bodies and minds healthy, with keeping us fed, with keeping our hospitals and public spaces clean, with helping the most vulnerable among us, and with being near our bedsides when we died. They led us through, even as they lost the most, and the harsh, uncomfortable truth is that sometimes they led us simply because they couldn’t afford to lose more.

This book follows the journey of various frontline-working women, and how the pandemic has affected them. These frontline workers range from doctors, nurses, food processing workers, long-haul truckers, community advocacy workers, small business owners, long-term care workers, mothers, etc.

Mothering, right now, is an essential service.

I've been privileged enough to have been able to keep my job during the pandemic and work from home with relative ease (my boyfriend and I had just moved out of our parent's place and found a reasonably sized apartment to live in together) and also lucky enough to be childfree during the pandemic. However, I know many people (friends and family) who have not been as fortunate. Both my mom and brother were laid off from their jobs and my dad's restaurant was struggling during lockdown. Many of my coworkers also had young kids and had difficulty juggling work while also managing their hyperactive children. And then, of course, there were my many friends who were working the frontlines and putting their lives at risk while helping others.

This book offered a lot of information and much needed perspectives on the frontline workers who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic. It was depressing to read about, but also inspiring and empowering to know that most of our frontline heroes are strong and selfless women (who deserve pay raises and better benefits!!).

This is a book that future historians will reference when researching about the societal impacts of COVID-19.

*** #36 of my 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads ***

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting (and fairly hopeful) look at specific stories during the first year of the pandemic. While it might not be the kind of reading you may want to embrace (I know the feeling of being overwhelmed with COVID-19 news), but I found some of it was cathartic (but some of it increased my anxiety, especially the conversation about long-term care homes).

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was one I took my time with because it’s a lot to consume as we continue navigating this pandemic. But it was so encouraging reading stories of women being powerhouses in their families, jobs, and communities. It wasn’t quite what I expected (I think I just didn’t love the writing), but still an interesting read.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good look at how the COVID pandemic has disproportionately affected women and in particular women of color and new immigrants - the ones most likely to be working frontline jobs and least able to afford the economic reductions. Coined a “shecession” over 1.5 million women lost jobs at the start of the pandemic and women were less able to return to the workforce after the first wave than their male counterparts (for various reasons but mainly due to the shortage in childcare options). McKeon does a great job interviewing a wide sample of different women who have been negatively affected by the pandemic, with an emphasis on Canadian women and experiences. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about the real costs of this pandemic and wanting to fully appreciate the toll that is being felt by frontline workers and women from all walks of life in general.

Favourite quotes:
“Mothers are doing this work at a huge cost to their sanity, their leisure, their time and their careers.”

“Mothering right now is an essential service.”

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book that covered all aspects of the pandemic from the eyes of the women who experienced it — virologists, doctors and nurses, social workers, cleaning staff, factory workers, truck drivers, business owners, moms, etc. It also highlights how much pressure is on women to take care of everyone around them, whether they put that pressure on themselves or society puts it on them. This books was tough to read at times because some of the stories are ones of sadness, but all of them have at least a glimmer of hope in them.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of essays about the lives of Canadian women from all walks of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the nature of the publishing of printed materials, the essays only go back to the fall of 2020.

A second volume about the lives of Canadian women in the following months (year? More?) would also be appreciated.

[the refuge of books · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about corona virus from the first beginning where and when they found it and how it did quick spread I really liked the book while reading it I remembered everything about it the fear of losing your fav persons quarantine and everything related to this disease

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A an inspiring and heartbreaking look at the role of, and effect on, women during the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a difference two years makes. We just passed the 2nd anniversary of COVID-19’s declaration by the WHO as a pandemic and I knew this was a book I needed to read as we approached this milestone. Where I live, things are finally (!) going back to normal - whether or not you agree is another topic for discussion - but all restrictions will actually be lifted tomorrow. So again I say, what a difference two years makes. This book was a good reminder of how far we’ve come, a reminder of the heartache but also the resilience felt right here in Canada. As a nurse, of course I related so much to the stories told by health care providers (healthcare aides, doctors, cleaners, nurses) but I was in awe of the stories told by businesswomen, researchers, mothers, volunteers and organizers. Their stories were bold, heartbreaking, heartwarming, shocking and beautiful, the author does a marvellous job of keeping this book the perfect balance of facts and storytelling. COVID-19 is unlike anything any of us have ever experienced, and yes, I am 100% excited to be looking towards the future, but we need to respect and remember the past, who we have lost, what we have overcome, and how we grew.

Follow me on IG @whatsissyreading.

[Ava Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible. Emotional. And just straight up amazing. While there was nothing “new” about the pandemic itself in this book, hearing the stories of these front lines workers was incredibly touching and difficult at the same time. There were many parts of this book that I personally knew about and how their position would struggle, but never thought about truly. And this book just brought them all to life. I think it touched on emotions, heartbreak, love, community, resilience and strength. It talked about random civilians and famous scientist and doctors who have been helping Canada and other parts of the world through the past two almost three years. Amazing read. Fastest I have EVER read a book. Highly recommend. Will keep and definitely re-read forever. And will save this for my kids to read one day.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great look into what the women of the pandemic did in order to help, protect and be there for the various communities they serve.

While sometimes too heavily focused on Ontario stories, this was still a great read into what life looked like for frontline workers, parents and community members during COVID-19.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Lots of great women highlighted in the book. Also a lot of great information on the pandemic and where we really need to improve as a country.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great glimpse into the early days and the sacrifices of of women. Would have like to have seen the story continue longer. Maybe there will be a part two.

[Kyra Dizy · Rating 4 out of 5]

really interesting read - i thought that this book provided such valuable insight into different areas of the front line workers. really cool read

[Ashley Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was PHENOMENAL! As a huge science nerd and healthcare worker (not front line specifically, but still) I loved hearing about all the female powerhouses that helped Canada navigate it's way (and still are) through Covid-19. From the government officials and policy makers, to the scientists, nurses, healthcare workers, long-haul truck drivers, pharmacists, teachers, multitasking mothers and your considerate next door neighbours, this book is a lovely reminder that big or small, women in a multitude of roles from a wide variety of backgrounds had key roles to play in helping us understand and navigate our way through the Covid-19. Many would have us believe that Covid is over, but there's still much to be understood and studied as new variants emerge, but it's nice to know there's some pretty incredible female powerhouses behind us looking out for us and watching our backs. Thank you!