The Woman's Club of Raleigh publishes book of personal accounts of pandemic

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- March is Women's History Month and to celebrate, ABC11 is spotlighting the creative way The Woman's Club of Raleigh is documenting the pandemic.

The nonprofit that has been serving Raleigh since 1904 has published a new book. Living The Covid Experience, Gleanings 2020-2021, is a living history with personal accounts of experiences of different women as coronavirus changed the world.

More than fifty members of The Woman's Club of Raleigh contributed pieces including short stories, poetry, and even recipes that took on new meaning during the lockdown. Members say they got the idea while looking through the archives of their organization.

"We went back and looked to see was there a record during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic?," explained Woman's Club of Raleigh member Stephanie Gootnick. "Was there anything that people wrote about? Was there history and what we realized is there was nothing for future generations to look back on and see, and we said we have to do something," Gootnick added.

"We have stories that have some heartbreak in it," added member Ann Jagger. "That will make you cry. There are stories that will make you laugh. So the range of emotions through the whole book just takes you on a roller coaster ride,

We wanted everybody to just say what was in their heart and what they wanted to share. We wanted to be a book showing resiliency and I think we accomplished that," Jagger said.

Living The Covid Experience is available through The Woman's Club of Raleigh for fifteen dollars. Proceeds will fund a writing award for high school seniors.