Everyone’s Got a Story
Who We Are Now: Stories of What Americans Lost and Found During the COVID-19 Pandemic is a surreal time capsule, taking us back to a very strange time we all lived through, but which now seems remote; a far away, fuzzy past when schools were closed, highways were empty, and life was different than it had ever been before.
People across the country told their stories to author Michelle Fishburne face-to-face, as she RV’d 12,000 miles while the pandemic was still raging in 2020 and 2021. They shared what their lives were like, what made them struggle, and what surprised them.
The personal histories in Who We Are Now show nearly every facet of American life, from the young college student who finds unexpected fame on TikTok, to a special education teacher sharing the challenges of remote learning, to a first-time mayor trying to manage an impending wave of the virus and all that it will bring with it.
Each person’s story is different. Some, like Michelle, lost their jobs. Others lost family, friends, and even physical mobility. And yet amongst the difficulties, many found something that eluded them before the pandemic.
The result is an inside glimpse into what people across America lost and found. Michelle gives us all an opportunity to hear the stories as if we were there, in real-time, sitting across from each of these people, listening to their every word.
Who We Are Now is available on Amazon and Bookshop.org and for pre-orders at Barnes & Noble.
Additional stories can be read now on the Stories page.
Follow along Michelle’s journeys (she is a full-time nomad wandering across the U.S.) on Instagram @michellefishburne. To keep up-to-date with new Who We Are Now stories, follow on Instagram @whowearenowusa.
100 of these stories were chosen to be featured in Michelle’s debut book
