Description
Dear Patient
Book Summary
A poignant documentary work that collects 28 real emails exchanged between families and Spanish hospitals during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, in March and April 2020. Through these letters, the reader gains access to the intimate testimony of those who lived through the lockdown at home while their loved ones were hospitalized, as well as the responses from healthcare workers who, amidst exhaustion and gratitude, became the only possible link. This book is, at once, a tribute to the patients who suffered an unknown illness and the staff who assisted them under the most extreme circumstances.
What is it about?
The book compiles a selection of real emails sent to various Spanish hospitals during the hardest months of the first wave of COVID-19. In them, family members and friends narrate from their homes how their day-to-day life was unfolding, their fears, their hope, and their need to maintain a bond with those who were hospitalized. The volume also includes responses from the healthcare staff in charge of delivering these messages to the patients, reflecting both their gratitude for the support received and the immense care pressure they were under. The work not only documents an exceptional historical moment but also seeks to preserve the memory of those who suffered from the disease and pay a sincere tribute to those who were on the front line.
Main themes
- Real testimonies from the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Spain (March-April 2020).
- Communication as an emotional bond between hospitalized patients and their families during the lockdown.
- The experience of healthcare personnel: exhaustion, tension, and gratitude in extreme conditions.
- Historical memory of an unprecedented health and social crisis.
- A tribute to the patients and the professionals who assisted them.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in real testimonies and historical documents of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those who wish to understand the human experience behind the data and news. It is also recommended reading for healthcare professionals and health science students, due to the recognition it gives to their work. Likewise, it may interest anyone who lived through the lockdown and wishes to reflect on that period from an intimate and collective perspective.
What this book offers
- A direct, unfiltered testimony of how the first wave of the pandemic was experienced from inside homes and hospitals.
- A unique documentary collection that preserves the memory of an exceptional historical moment.
- A sincere recognition of the work of healthcare personnel in limit conditions.
- The possibility to emotionally connect with the experiences of real people during a global crisis.
Technical specifications
- Author: Guerrero-García, María Cristina
- Publisher: PUNTO ROJO EDITORIAL
- Language: Spanish
- Topic: FAMILY AND HEALTH
- Collection: PUNTO ROJO
- Binding: Paperback
- Edition date: May 2021
- Number of pages: 116
- Weight: 147 g
Editorial review
Dear Patient offers a documentary and emotional value that is hard to find in other formats. As these are real emails, the work avoids any artifice and presents the rawness and tenderness of a few months that marked an entire society. It is a brief but intense book that may interest both those seeking to understand what was lived through and those who wish to pay tribute to the anonymous protagonists of the pandemic. Its intimate approach and honesty make it a recommended read for those who value direct testimonies as a source of historical memory.