‘Humour, compassion and friendship’ of life in the time of coronavirus around the world captured in author’s booklet

Writer Christine Mar wondered about the feelings of ordinary people living through extraordinary times as the coronavirus pandemic spread globally

She asked 50 friends all over the world to contribute their thoughts, recipes, jokes, and drawings for a booklet she is self-publishing

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A painting telling the story of the Black Death in Padua, Italy in the 14th century. Writer Christine Mar’s musing about how people who lived through that plague felt led her to document the feelings of people amid the current coronavirus crisis. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 2:45pm, 9 Sep 2020Updated: 3:00pm, 9 Sep 2020

One of the deadliest pandemics recorded in human history was the Black Death during the 14th century. The bubonic plague tore through Europe and Asia, killing between 75 million and 200 million people.

Author Christine Mar wondered how people felt at the time of such a deadly plague. And that thought prompted her to document the feelings of people during the current coronavirus crisis.

One of millions of people stuck at home looking for ways to beat boredom, Mar, who retired in as a health charity director in 2007, used the time to compile a booklet titled Life in the Coronavirus Times. Since February, she has been contacting friends from all over the world to find out how they have been coping with lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus.

Mar wanted to show how “ordinary people in the world are going through extraordinary times with humour, compassion and friendship” and to “capture life at a time that will never come again”.

Christine Mar will self-publish a booklet on the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Winson Wong

On the last page of the booklet, which she is self-publishing, is one of its most memorable entries, from her grandson Indra, a final-year student at the University of California, Berkeley.