In March of 2020, many began the social isolation of the pandemic with realistic ideas of how to stay busy. Especially those not working remotely. Cleaning closets and purging collectibles were high on the lists. Some even thought to locate new walks or hiking areas. I used the first two or three months as though I was on a staycation: I read, streamed movies, walked, and took daytime naps.

As my seventy-fifth birthday rolled around and my sons planned a virtual birthday celebration over an entire week, I wrote an essay about having a momentous birthday during a pandemic; it was not something I could look up online. It gained a life of its own; I wrote an essay on one of the publications I submit to. Somehow almost like magic, a manuscript crept into my mind, perhaps during a nap!

The book is a realistic, humorous, and raw insight into the pandemic; it is sad and emblematic, given the author's frenetic and fractured growing-up years. Readers will love the unique voice-one minute triumphant, another dark and foreboding, but always with a survivor's wink. All who read this book will appreciate those winks and consider their own experiences, which affect their real lives.

Spring and summer are approaching; millions have been vaccinated, so pull up a chair on the beach, in the park, add a chilled drink of choice, and enjoy this read.