(BETTER) STORIES FROM THE PANDEMIC

“(Better) stories From the Pandemic” is a book collecting 80 stories, 80 interviews with people who shared their experiences during the pandemic, experiences that speak about gender and intersecting inequalities.

During Resistiré we have collected almost 800 interviews and at some point, we wondered “how could we give these stories wider dissemination and allow them to inspire others? Then the idea of the book was brought forward.

In the pages of the book you will find the experiences of people who were already exposed to systemic social injustices, even before the pandemic shocked the world. In their own voices, the protagonists open up to tell how some of their difficulties suddenly escalated and became extremely unbearable during the crisis.

You will find stories of working mothers juggling various tasks. Stories of health workers exposed to unbearable risks and stress. Stories of young transsexuals forced into isolation with hostile parents. As well as undocumented migrants, people with disabilities and older people exposed to isolation.

In terms of structure, the book has no chapters, it is not divided in themes, nor by country. We resisted the idea of clustering each story in a specific theme. Instead, we liked this idea of having a flow, and sequencing the stories in waves: a challenging story is followed by one that conveys hope, resistance or change.