Living Through a Pandemic

How to explain what happened to us in 2020? There has been no shortage of incredible and moving writing about what it has been like to live through the coronavirus pandemic: The bravery and exhaustion of frontline workers. The frustrations of Zoom school. The eye-watering sensation of a COVID test nasal swab. The quarantine dog adoptions. The FaceTime funerals. The fear. The loneliness. The boredom. The gallows humor. The surprising moments of comfort and joy (and millions of loaves of banana bread). The unbearable grief.

Nothing could capture it all, but we've collected some of the many personal stories and on-the-ground dispatches about life in the time of COVID-19 that resonated with Pocket readers and editors.