Until Further Notice: A Year in Pandemic Time

Kaler (sociology, Univ. of Alberta) puts some of society’s collective thoughts into words in this book. She shares her individual pandemic experiences, which most readers will find relatable. Kaler is cognizant of her privilege to be able to continue her career remotely and not suffer a loss of income, but she still experienced a gamut of emotions as the pandemic continued and expertly expresses them. In the beginning, she says she and her colleagues considered canceling meetings but wondered if that seemed alarmist at the time. Soon, it became evident, even in the earliest of days, that the first signs of social distancing were emerging, and recommendations quickly changed. The pandemic became an event that altered the world. Kaler describes the ways she found to communicate with her elderly mother via Zoom and, sadly, she loses her father. COVID, she finds, even altered the ways people deal with grief and loss. She believes that the pandemic could’ve been stopped by people in power and laments that this was not the case.