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Having previously had 5 books published - including biographies of the novelist Christina Stead and the philosopher Krishnamurti - my work is now published by Sydney School of Arts & Humanities ssoa.com.au. (See short story collection titled 'a grain of truth a pinch of salt') While I was on vacation in Peru in March 2020, the government declared a coronavirus lockdown, so I had to find a seat on a special flight home and went into compulsory hotel quarantine on arrival in Sydney. It was the perfect opportunity to write a daily blog journal to distract me from feeling sorry for myself. Positive energy pulled me through the fortnight's confinement to create an ebook to share with so many readers who are themselves facing differing degrees of physical or psychological isolation.
Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite
Quarantined is a non-fiction account by CV Williams - a traveler who found herself in a foreign country when Coronavirus struck and country borders around the world were closed one by one. After vacationing in Peru, the author was suddenly quarantined to a single hotel room in Sydney where meals were placed outside the door in a paper bag. Human contact was zero and the only time one was permitted to leave the confines of their allocated room was to make a serious complaint to the officer on the front desk. Problems such as finding zero protein in the food served after advising them of being a vegetarian, or having to find a way to get sufficient air or exercise when being confined to a small hotel room were certainly hurdles that had to be overcome. Although the accommodations were comfortable, the situation was akin to being in solitary confinement in prison with no human contact, no fresh air, and with people climbing the walls out of boredom while on the cusp of being declared borderline insane.
As an Australian stranded in Finland, I found myself glued to each and every single word CV Williams has written in this highly detailed and well-penned account of the solitude and isolation felt during the international quarantine. The pain, frustration, fear, and anguish comes through loud and clear with each and every turn of the page. It is so very easy to feel completely alone and trapped, wondering if there will ever come a day that the government of your home country even knows of your existence with each passing day. Quarantined is the first book I have dared to read about Covid19 due to PTSD, but in doing so I realized that billions of people from all walks of life are connected through the very same fear of this plague - some more so than others, with pre-existing health problems and dietary restrictions. As strange as it may seem, CV Williams’s recollection of what was experienced overseas not only shone a light on what may be waiting for me (should I ever find my way home), but also that family across the globe understand completely due to the fact that they are going through the same fears and restrictions back home. I found that reading Quarantined gave me a sense of enlightenment and recommend it to all readers over 15 years of age around the globe, especially when it feels like the walls are truly closing in around you.
