An ER doctor in New York City shares his experience amid the COVID-19 pandemic: “I don’t think we’ve had time to process what’s happened to us.”

Thi Bui
Thi Bui was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1978 as part of the "boat people" wave of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War. Her debut graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do (Abrams ComicArts, 2017) has been selected for an American Book Award, a Common Book for UCLA and other colleges and universities, an all-city read by Seattle and San Francisco public libraries, a National Book Critics Circle finalist in autobiography, and an Eisner Award finalist in reality-based comics. It made over thirty best of 2017 book lists, including Bill Gates' top five picks. She illustrated the picture book, A Different Pond, written by the poet Bao Phi (Capstone, 2017), for which she won a Caldecott Honor. With her son, Hien, she co-illustrated the children’s book, Chicken of the Sea (McSweeney’s, 2019), written by Pulitzer winner Viet Thanh Nguyen and his son, Ellison. Her short comics can be found online at Reveal News, The Nib, PEN America, and BOOM California. She is currently researching and drawing a work of graphic nonfiction about immigrant detention and deportation, to be published by One World, Random House.
‘What everyone shares is the desire to shelter in place in a safe haven.’
As part of our comics series about inequality amid the pandemic, a realtor in the Hamptons reflects on how COVID-19 has changed the meaning of home.
‘We have always been able to say goodbye to those who have left this life.’
A funeral director in South Carolina shares what it’s like to plan socially distanced funerals.
‘We’re not treated like people. We’re numbers.’
This comic shares the experiences of someone working in Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘I have to be out there. They’re killing us.’
“Even though I don’t wanna die from COVID-19, I’d rather die fighting for a cause trying to save people’s lives.”
‘A lot of us feel we are living in a state of tyranny.’
Part of our illustrated series on inequity in the time of pandemic.
‘I was forced to drive across the country during a pandemic just to get health care.’
A Texas woman seeking an abortion asks: “Why is my life not important enough to the governor and the other men making these decisions?”
‘We’re building luxury bunkers.’
“We were actually the first company to build a quote unquote luxury bunker. The first quarter of 2020 I saw a 2,000% increase in the amount of inquiries.”
‘A restaurant is a living, breathing part of the community.’
Billy Chiu manages Grant Place Restaurant. In this comic illustrated by Thi Bui, he talks about how COVID-19 has impacted business.
‘This is going to be a different city.’
A New York City waiter reflects on the changes COVID-19 has wrought on the city in this comic illustrated by Thi Bui.