An inside look, just for A+ members, from Autostraddle’s editors on the process, struggles, and surprises of working on what you’re reading on the site. We learn so much from this work before it ever even makes it to your eyes; now you can, too!

We do not live in a “post-COVID” world.

While some parts of the world resume normal activities, the virus remains alive and mutuating. As you read this, India’s COVID death toll has climbed past 300,000. South America has lost over one million. COVID variants, which are more easily transmissible, have spread across the globe. The wealthiest nations are still hoarding vaccines. In the US, more than half of residents are still noxt fully vaccinated, some of them by choice, and AAPI communities are facing a heightened level of violence and discrimination in the name of COVID-blame. And regardless of how “post”-COVID our individual worlds might feel as restrictions lift, we are all still living through the trauma of a global pandemic.

We are grieving those we lost to COVID. We’re facing ongoing health complications after surviving the virus. We’re unemployed and in debt. We’re readjusting to in-person work and school. We’re recognizing the failings of leaders who did not and will not protect our most vulnerable communities from the pandemic’s wrath. This series serves as a reminder that we’re not alone.

“How To Survive A Post(?)-COVID World” came from my own fears and frustrations. My family members live in a state where only 36% of the population has been fully vaccinated. I live in Chicago, where our mayor spent $281.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money on the police. I’m watching my city and my loved ones continue to suffer from the mental, physical and financial impact of the pandemic, and I’m trudging through my own ongoing pandemic-related struggles. Still, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but for so many people, that light won’t be visible for a very long time.

The writers featured in this series share their pain, their coping skills and their practical knowledge to help Autostraddle readers work towards stability in a COVID-stricken (and perhaps, someday, a truly post-COVID) world. I’m grateful for their vulnerability and guidance, and I hope that you’ll find some help and healing in their stories.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!