We are now in the second year of the global pandemic. Since late 2019, many parts of the world have been locked down, travel curtailed, and in many countries, the mandatory wearing of masks. In the early part of 2020, it was also common to see members of the public coming out regularly to openly support workers in essential services. These are the front-line workers in healthcare, people who face customers regularly, and those in public services who had gone beyond their call of duty to serve others. Most of us see these healthcare professionals and frontline workers from the outside. What about scenes from the inside? What about stories and perspectives that come from the patients of hospitals, especially in those wards that are focused on caring for Covid patients? This book is about the story of a Covid-19 patient admitted to a special ward on March 21st, 2020, and her 48-day journey to recovery.

Part One of the book describes all the activities prior to her entering Ward 9, the NHS Wales and Mind. It all began with caution. With impending city lockdown, public facilities like libraries were all preparing to close. People were told to avoid gathering in public and to stay home. The news throughout the country was about the lockdown. Soon Alys Morgan was working from home. Some people were panic buying. People were starting to wear masks when they venture outside. Ten days later, her daughter Caitlin got sick. Soon, Alys got the sniffles, which coincided with the British Prime Minister who was moved into the Intensive Care due to Covid-19. By mid-April, it was Alys turn to get sick. As her illness struggles linger longer, her daily notes grew shorter. Soon she had to be hospitalized. She has been infected by the dreaded coronavirus. Even in her weakened condition, she manages to put down her observations in writing. She writes about how she was admitted to hospital. She remembers the different nurses and doctors checking her blood pressure, taking her temperature, monitoring her overall health, and the presence of so many different medical specialists. It was a surreal moment when she saw her ward description: "Ward Nine. Coronavirus: No Unauthorised Entry."

Part Two of the book describes her daily struggles during her fight to recover from the coronavirus. All the medical staff was wearing full PPE. Working like a united army that fights the coronavirus, they tended to her in every possible way. Losing her appetite, she found it hard to sleep. As her condition deteriorates, she had to be put on tubes. Despite feeling terribly thirsty, she could only take sips. She describes her situation as: "I live in the hospital now. I am a sick person. My world is nothing but my hospital bed." She manages to see many different people helping to maintain the hospital, like the cleaners, the janitors, and the technicians. Due to the intense workload, all the staff was overworked and understaffed. The situation became dire at times when nurses say they don't have enough body bags!

The hospital experience is not something any of us would wish to go through. Covid-19 is a serious disease. By giving us an insight into the actual ward full of coronavirus patients, we get a glimpse of all the care of staff and the struggles of patients in one book. Written like a daily journal, readers get to follow the author through her ups and downs, her pains and reliefs, her emotional highs and lows, and many more. In a battle of life and death, Alys donned new perspectives of appreciation for all who worked in healthcare. She treasured the value of life and recovery. Reading this book helps me appreciate all the work that these healthcare professionals do. Every death in the ward brings tears of sorrow. Every patient who recovers brings tears of joy. Covid-19 is not a disease to be trifled with. For anyone who still questions whether the coronavirus is a hoax, read this book!

Ten percent of the cost of this book will be donated to Conwy Mind in helping them to support those, like Alys, who continue to be affected by the pandemic.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Parthian Books and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

A very personal tale of coronavirus, interspersed with fascinating parallels to the years of Plague as outlined by Defoe.

A sudden and unexpected presentation of coronavirus leads the author into Ward 9 were she is nursed back to health by all of those who work there. Observing life from the safety of a hospital bed and viewing reality from a distance. It takes an army of professionals, cleaning staff and porters to help heal the sick and this is captured here.

A very quick and easy read. Thank you for sharing your story.

A Must Read. Simply written, a story that details three weeks of living in a hospital with the Corona virus. A ward of women stricken with the virus, and the story of one woman, her suffering, and the suffering of others with the same plight. The story of her battle is based in Wales. But, it describes millions of stories about a plague that “trumps” all plagues. Read it, follow it, don’t take it lightly. You will never be the same after you read one woman’s struggle with the virus.

A poignant first-hand account of one of the UK's earliest COVID-19 patients.

Alys Morgan was hospitalized for three weeks in April 2020, as COVID-19 ran rampant around the globe. Her memoir, originally published online as part of The Hearth Centre's "Tales of Lockdown" series, provides a persona look inside a medical unit at the onslaught of the pandemic. It tells the stories uncertainty, isolation, loss and survival. Narratives such as these are sure to be for decades (if not centuries) to come, providing future generations with first hand accounts of the virus that upended the entire world.

This is the first book I have read of this kind. Its an insight from someone who has faced the pandemic first hand. It was very down to earth and realistic and emphasised what is really important in all of this... the need for human contact! It also brings home how scary this is as no one knows what the outcome will be for everyone. No doubt there will be many to follow like this.

Ward nine, the memoir of Alys Morgan during her hospital stay in Wales after contracting covid-19. This has created mixed feelings for me, an obviously desperate time for many people, suffering from the virus or caring for those that had, and Alys had a terrible time of it however, the somewhat juvenile language failed to create atmosphere and show the gravity of the situation (and I work in the NHS!). Perhaps I am a little immune to some of the more clinical ideas, but the isolation and the terror must be immense for all concerned. Everyone being masked and gowned, not seeing faces, lips move or smile must be terrifying yet I was left underwhelmed.
I really appreciated the comments from Daniel Defoe that recalled the devastation caused by the plague in London 1722, it's amazing the parallels of this and how long it took us in 2020 to slow the spread of the virus.
I think the mental damage this virus has caused will continue to effect more people and may never be added up in a statistically manner so appreciate the aim to donate to a worthy cause.
Overall, a small insight into a covid ward from the patients perspective, possibly an eye opener to those who have never been in a hospital however, I think it lacks the literary skill to create impact.
Thanks to Parthian books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I raced through it in a couple of days. Alys caught coronavirus early in the pandemic and spent time in an NHS hospital in Wales as she struggled to keep down food and drink and became extremely weak. This is an important record of her own personal experience. What overwhelmingly comes across in her book is the incredible dedication of the NHS staff and the collaborative effort trying to help Alys and other patients get better when faced with quite an unknown virus when it first appeared. In amongst her own diary entries are extracts from the book 'A Journal of a Plague year' written by Daniel Defoe. I personally like the inclusion of this, I thought it worked well and it was interesting to read actions at the time of the plague not being dissimilar to that of Covid.

Thanks to Alys for sharing her story. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a harrowing but interesting and timely account by Alys Morgan of her dreadful experience with coronavirus, cleverly interspersed with extracts from Daniel Defoe's book about the plague. Alys Morgan was extremely unlucky - she caught the virus in March last year when very little was known about it, and there wasn't much preparation for it. She provides a graphic account of how the virus affected her both physically and emotionally, and the loneliness and isolation of the hospital, except for the excellent staff. It's quite deep and philosophical with extracts of Matthew Arnold's poetry, but simply written.

This is certainly worth reading, and she provides a helpful reading list about plagues and isolation at the end.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

One of the first of what will likely be a flood of Covid memoirs. This one was meaningful in that there was a clear sense of the writer's self; the helplessness of a thinking person, a woman somewhere between the age of my mother and grandmother, with similar concerns about her manners and her slippers even in extremity. It went to my heart, as did the sense of the NHS and its nurses under strain, both logistical and emotional.

Wow what a book I think everyone who thinks Covid is fake news should read about this woman’s experience of the virus and what actually goes on, on a Covid ward. This book is heartbreaking but will also restore your faith in humanity and the selfless acts that people are doing to keep us alive and safe in very unprecedented times. I loved the mix of the Plague novel as it’s scary how much it resembles what is happening now. Everyone should read this.

This book is written in the form of diary entries covering the authors fight against Covid 19. It is a direct and honest account of her battle with the virus from before testing positive up to her discharge from hospital. She also draws parallels with the great plague.
It is quite a short book but is an interesting read.

This is a relatively slight book, but as you can see from the title totally relevant to now. My review has been delayed because between arrival and writing I too became ill and am now designated as having “Long Covid” – and it is not a comfortable place to be – but it is interesting to see how another – in another part of Britain was hit by the pandemic. But it has been a very long year for most people as they adapt to where we are – one of the compelling things about this book is that it takes us back to that very strange place where we didn’t really know how it was going to affect us.
Morgan admits that the first time she heard of Coronavirus was on Saturday 21st March, at work as a librarian, when she was instructed to close the library to the public. She is close to retirement age, has a husband and a daughter and lives in North Wales. Her daughter very rapidly became ill with undiagnosed digestive problems – unusual symptoms of the “C” that are not always recognised. Her parents stepped in to support her. Morgan then started to display similar symptoms and over a period of days - still at home - started to deteriorate until the family called an ambulance.
She was tested found to have the “C” and was moved to a special ward and nursed over several weeks. Once she improved she was discharged, albeit needing ongoing physical and mental therapy. This recounting of her year was recommended as a way to recover from the traumas of what she had been through and seen. So we have here a retrospective diary of what she went through. But to add a little bite, or perspective, it is threaded with contemporary accounts of another great pandemic, the “Great Plague” of 1665.
It introduces her earlier “pre” life. Her library is closed and she has to work from home. Shops start to put safety measures in place simple things change, from later March there is of course the “lock down”. But she recounts a life of seeming obliviousness to the harsher realities – something that we have all seen play out all year in communities that have barely been touched by the disease. There are the odd references to panic buying and shortages, but she admits life is absolutely fine – until that is her daughter and then she herself become ill.
Hospital was an eye-opening experience. She was in an already over-stretched hospital, first in an assessment ward until her test proved positive. She had to cope with severe illness, dependent on the care of a number of NHS staff for most intimate functions. She had very sick patients around her, elderly, demented and dying. Staff, too became ill. This book is thus substantially her homage to the NHS staff who nursed her and kept her alive - a staff who were drawn from all over the world (particularly relevant in “Brexit” year). But who worked long hours, poorly paid, under resourced, but with professionalism, dignity, kindness, and support for patients and their families and when they had time for each other.
But by the time this book was published things were already moving on from the “first wave”. Constraints were being lifted and those lacking in either vision or common sense (or both) were already talking of “normal”. So the books speaks to the innocence of whole communities of what was about to hit them – an innocence that was still in place months later as we walked into the “second wave”. So reading the book was like the proverbial quietly “watching the car crash”.
Some may still not be ready to read this book because of what they have seen or been through this year. But it is a seriously important read not just for all health professionals and managers, but all politicians at all levels. Because as well as showing the sheer day to day nitty-gritty of getting the disease it more importantly shows exactly how critical messages for community safety DID NOT get through. This at the cost of great loss, grief and trauma, even before we talk about the longer term impacts on “the Economy”.

I didn’t get on so well with this book which is real shame. There was as much Defoe in it as there was the writing of the author and I just didn’t bond with it.
I didn’t feel it was as engaged as I expected and whilst the association with mental health charity mind this topic was somewhat skirted over.
Very grateful to net galley for allowing me to read this but sadly it wasn’t one for me and if it had been longer I don’t think I’d have persevered

Found this book quite difficult to read. Not because of content, which obviously wasn't a nice experience, but more how it's been written. While I appreciate this is a memoir it doesn't seem to have any writing ability to go along with it. At times it's like reading a child's diary.

Adding in quotes of Defoe just feels as though it's there to bulk the book out a little.

It's interesting to read other people's accounts of the ongoing pandemic but the way this is presented is difficult

This book is written as diary entries from a lady called Alys Morgan, who was admitted to hospital with severe sickness during the first wave of Covid 19. They did a Covid test which came back positive
What makes it even more moving, is that there are statements throughout the book that were written by Daniel Dafoe during the plague, and the similarities are quite humbling.
Although this story was very sad, as it goes on to describe Alys's 3 week stay in hospital, as she saw many patients come and go, I found this book touched more on how amazing the NHS staff were during her stay, even down to the catering staff and the janitors.
Great book, that I think will put a lot of things into perspective for a lot of people.

Two of the patients in my room were put onto trolleys and taken out, and then two more women wheeled in. “This is now a Coronavirus ward,” said Susan. Alys Morgan was admitted to hospital on the 19th of April, with an unexplained sickness that had rendered her too weak to move. The next day she was diagnosed with Covid-19 – though staff understood her symptoms as little as the virus itself.

As a nurse currently working in an intensive care unit, this book moved me to beyond tears, it was very hard-hitting and makes every shift, every pressure sore, the exhaustion worthwhile. Alys Morgan gives her own poignant first-hand account of COVID-19. I do not have the words to describe this book and how much it meant to me, I sincerely hope that the public who may be skeptical of COVID understand COVID’s lethality and the importance of precautions, and what patients and nurses such as myself go through.

This is a book that I will be discussing in length on my ICU unit with other nurses and will be recommending it. The cover is very eyecatching and would make me pick it up in a book shop.

Written by a woman who contracted Covid this shows the initial confusion over the symptoms and what, with the right support, the human body can overcome.
Alys had severe sickness and was diagnosed as having Gastroenteritis over the phone. When she hadn’t eaten for 10 days and her symptoms showed no sign of abating she was taken to hospital where she was diagnosed with Covid.
The Doctors, nurses, Healthcare assistants and housekeeping staff all played a part in convincing her to find the strength not to give up when she felt at her lowest ebb.
From the start the excerpts from Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year showed comparisons with events from the 1700’s and now. I found these particularly interesting.
At times I felt it got a bit too political, the writer making a big point of saying where the hospital staff were from, when anyone who has spent more than 2 mins in a hospital knows that the people who work there come from all over and it really doesn’t matter, they are all appreciated equally.
Overall I did enjoy it and cried when Alys was discharged from hospital and was given a “guard of honour” from the hospital staff.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Let's start with the cover. It's simple but real.
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Covid is a real and scary thing right now. This book provides a realistic view on how things are going for so many people.
The book was ... raw and insightful. I think everyone should read this at least once.


I'll definitely be looking out for other work by this author.

I read this title in one sitting, it was such an eye-opening account of the times we are living in from someone who has experienced it for themselves. It doesn't shy away from the horrors of the pandemic but also offers a beacon of hope for those families who are currently isolated from their loved ones who may be in hospital with the virus. Alys was incredibly thoughtful to share her story with the world and remind people of why our NHS is SO important!

This book was startling and touching, give real raw detail and emotion to the experiences of frontline workers during the pandemic. It also clearly highlights the trauma for patients and their families that will long stay in historical memory. The detail of the smells, sounds and thoughts of Alys make the story really hit home. A powerful read that I sure will be sourced in History textbooks in the years to come.