Who We Are Now

“An unvarnished look at a portion of our national experience. . . . [T]aking up the challenge of interpretation invites one to a deeper understanding of human nature in sudden, strange, and dangerous circumstances. Those who accept that challenge will find Who We Are Now to be a rewarding experience.”—Anglican Theological Review

“Readers who believe they’ll never forget the last three years may find Who We Are Now comforting in its ordinariness and everyday-people feel, and it’s lack of divisiveness. This is a book about you and everyone you know. Check it out.”—Philadelphia Tribune

“An important project. The interviews hit powerfully with regard to the loss and heartbreak from COVID.”—Southern Spaces

“A compact, accessible oral history documenting what Americans ”lost and found“ during the pandemic. Highlly recommended.”—CHOICE

“Fishburne effectively capture[s] the raw, unfiltered emotions and experiences of Americans during the pandemic, foregoing structures or analysis. Instead [revealing] a fragmented and complex national reality—one where grief, survival, optimism, and despair coexist.”—Oral History Review

“A profound look at the stories behind what was happening in our country during the pandemic. Michelle Fishburne pulls back the curtain on the lives of ordinary people during this extraordinary time. The stories are compelling and gripping, each so personal, yet we can all relate on so many levels. As a country, we will be forever changed by our time of isolation. Fishburne’s book is a time capsule of this defining and transformative moment.”—Sky Bergman, director of Lives Well Lived and professor emeritus of photography and video, California Polytechnic State University

“Fishburne gives us a beautiful and, at times, elegiac mosaic of the larger experience of our lives in these unprecedented times. This portrait is maddening, heartbreaking, frustrating, hopeful, and at times inspiring.”—Daniel Kerr, American University

“Having just finished Michelle Fishburne’s book, I am struck by feelings of awe, gratitude, and absolute wonderment at the strength and resilience of people in the face of what, in my experience, was the most difficult, terrifying year most Americans had ever witnessed. Thanks to this book, I can look back on the pandemic with a new perspective and see that while COVID-19 has forever changed us, many of those changes have been surprisingly positive.”—Colleen Bridger, former public health director and COVID-19 pandemic incident commander, City of San Antonio

“Michelle Fishburne has assembled a diverse array of voices from around the nation that add up to a compelling snapshot of America during a time of crisis and uncertainty. The profound conclusion is that Americans do in fact care deeply—about each other, about the fate of our country and what it stands for. Together these voices point a way forward, out of the darkness and toward the light.”—Kern Konwiser, Emmy Award–winning filmmaker

“COVID-19 took away the breath and voice of many Americans. Michelle Fishburne amplifies the breath and voice of the people she met through her travels across America. The stories of fear, resilience, and hope are ones we all lived through during the pandemic. Fishburne reminds us we were in it together—and still are.”—Alex Jahangir, chair, Metro Nashville COVID-19 Taskforce, and author of Hotspot: A Doctor’s Diary from the Pandemic