Letters from Lockdown ed by Natash Kaplinsky

Introduced by newsreader, presenter, and Barnardo's president Natasha Kaplinsky, Letters From Lockdown features 100+ letters from celebrity names, COVID heroes, and a diverse range of members of the public, all answering the question - 'What was lockdown like for you?'

The letter writers include doctors and nurses, care home staff and vaccinators, train drivers and hairdressers, teachers and environmentalists - people who have been on the frontline in tackling the pandemic, or in trying to get the world back on its feet. Other letters document the unforgettable lighter moments of the past year: interviews crashed by children, TikTok triumphs and disasters, and Goats joining Zoom meetings. Each offers their unique perspective on the year everything changed.

The idea for the book came from Natasha Kaplinsky's children, Arlo and Kika. They wrote an open letter, wanting to understand other people's experiences of lockdown. Their question, 'What was lockdown like for you?' is the prompt; the collection of letters in response form the book. As we keep our fingers crossed that this summer will bring a safe end to restrictions, this mixture of funny, sad, heart-warming, surprising, heroic and honest experiences will mark the start of a period of reflection.

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Natasha's children spent the lockdown writing letters to anyone they could find addresses for with the intention of compiling them into this book. The answers run the gamut from key workers, educators, politicians, public figures and private citizens, all talking about what they did and how they filled their time during England's lockdowns.

The letters are presented as delivered, many hand written, often with doodles or pictures on the sheet. My personal favourite is Matt Lucas', which is just really funny, but there's a lot of fantastic reads here. This would really encourage dipping in and out, reading bits and pieces here and there.

I enjoyed reading pieces of different people's lives. Some of the stories were hard to bear, some were heartwarming, all were interesting. I'll be dipping into this one for a long time to come.