Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, has said she always worried each time her husband leaves for work.
The author, whose husband is a medical doctor in the United States where they live, stated this on her Instagram page and also shared her plight following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which is ravaging countries around the world and also shutting down activities globally.
She also revealed that her husband has diagnosed two positive cases of Coronavirus in an American state, being told to brace itself for an onslaught of more cases.
Chimamanda, who described the death of her closest aunt who died from brain aneurysm as a “devastating tragedy”, also said that she was now reminded everyday of how fragile breakable humans were as she reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her words:
Every day I am reminded of how fragile, how breakable we are. My husband is a doctor and each morning when he leaves for work, I worry. My daughter coughs and I worry. My throat itches and I worry. On Facetime, I watch my elderly parents. I admonish them gently: Don’t let people come to the house. Don’t read the rubbish news on Whatsapp. This is a time to cope in the best way we can. There are moments when our spirits will sag. Moments when we will feel tired after doing absolutely nothing. But how can we not? The world as it is today is foreign to us. It would be strange not to be shaken to our core.I cannot imagine thinking of over-achieving, or of accomplishing more than usual, when all around you the world as you know it has changed, perhaps never to return to what it used to be. And yet we must continue to go on day by day. We must choose to live. And to do so we can set small goals. Like, drink more water, if you’ve spent the past ten years wanting to be more hydrated. Like, learn something every day, no matter how small. Like call loved ones – not text them, call them. Like, help someone with a small cash transfer, an encouraging message, a shared laugh. In these pandemic-blighted times, living with a medical professional who so far has diagnosed two positive cases, in an American state being told to brace itself for an onslaught of more cases. My goal is to feel anxiety but not allow it fester into paranoia, what helps me is knowledge. The news can be emotionally exhausting, and can inflame anxiety, but it is important for me to educate myself.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages and has appeared in various publications, including The New Yorker, Granta, The O. Henry Prize Stories, the Financial Times, and Zoetrope. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
