This was a really quick, short read.

Written in diary form, Ward Nine Coronavirus is an account of Alys Morgan’s stay on a COVID ward during the first wave of the pandemic. An honest account which brings to light the effect on individuals, both physically and mentally, and the pressure on the NHS.

The book was very well written and flowed well. The book was great. Everything I thought it would be from the description . We all lived through covid

This was such a moving account of Alys' experience of COVID, peppered with extracts and quotes from texts about the plague.

I'm not sure I enjoyed reading it right now - we're still living through the pandemic so it's actually quite a tough read still but I think it'll be really interesting to look back on in the future.

A moving insight into one person's experience of the care she received through her near death illness during the Coronavirus pandemic.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy

This true life account of the pandemic was one I've read twice now and each time I read it, I wonder if we'll be passed it. I'm hoping that eventually books like this, as worthy as they are will be treated as accounts of historical fact rather than 'and this is what could be you in a few days, because you've caught (x) strain'.
At the time of writing this review, we're now facing Omicron, which is causing havoc over the holiday season and I can't help but think of all of the things I read in this book, and how much they affected me, and how it remains with me.
Not a book to escape with. Instead, really, a book to be aware of, as it's a factual account of how horribly unprepared we were - and in some ways still are - in the end.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While it was interesting to read about Coronavirus from the POV of someone from another country, I do think this will be much more impactful for people in the future, who did not experience the pandemic, as I felt like I had experienced much of this book myself. However, I believe that was the author's intent, as she references A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe frequently, and in that case, she did her job.

This is an honest and heartwrenching story.
Alys story begins with the onset of Covid 19 and proceeds to describe the illness and what she went through with this horrible disease.
I found the comparison and snippets from defoes diary very Interesting and well done.


I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

An account of the experience of getting and being hospitalised with COVID. Once you’ve read what Defoe wrote about the plague, albeit he was only a child then, the political rants, there’s not really very much to read in this book. Not much depth to this at all. Obviously a horrible, harrowing experience but somehow I expected a bit more than just notes from a diary which was repetitive and disjointed. However Defoe’s sections were interesting! An extremely quick read.

My thanks to #Netgalley and #Parthianbooks for the opportunity to read this memoir.

What a fascinating insight into what has been an unprecedented health emergency worldwide.
I loved the comparison with Daniel Defoe ‘ A Journal of the Plague Year’
I found it thought provoking and like Alys I’m not sure if the human race has actually learned anything from the experience, selfish people will remain self absorbed.

Ward Nine: Coronavirus is one woman's account of getting covid. an eye-opening read, it just brings home what people have gone through since the pandemic began.

A truly moving account of one woman's experience as she became increasingly unwell and was admitted to Ward Nine: Coronavirus. A love letter to the everyday hero's of the NHS and Mind who healed her body and mind. An account of events as they unfolded and the strange new language we have all adopted - self-isolation; shielding; bubble.

Questions of lessons learnt (or not as the case may be).

An important account of a time we will never forget, and a tribute to all those affected by this pandemic. Survivors and their families. And for those who lost their lives - let us never forget.

Alys Morgan gives an account of Corvid 19 from the sharp end. Her account of being hospitalised was captured vividly & I could well imagine why she needed psychiatric help afterwards. Alongside her account are extracts from Daniel Defoe's account of the Plague, which was an interesting juxtaposition. It was a quick read & one that I found moving. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Starting on the first day of the first lockdown this is the battle from coronavirus one woman faced. She suffered from none of the reported symptoms however, she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with the dreaded virus. This is her account of how she felt through her experience.

For over a year, we have read stories of lives devastated by coronavirus and watched them daily on the news. 'Ward Nine:Coronavirus' gives an emotional first person description of how it actually feels to be separated from your family and the outside world and how it feels to be completely dependant on drips for food and oxygen to help you breath.

Distressing as her account was, it was so touching and encouraging to read about all our NHS heroes who nursed her back to help and genuinely cared about her.

The insertion of sections written by Defoe was interesting and cleverly done.

Thanks so much to the author for sharing her story and thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

There have been so many ups and downs in the last year and a bit, and so many things have happened, I felt that I would have a sense of immunity (excuse the pun) to reading this book. How wrong I was. So many emotions come through this memoir: fear, anxiety, relief, loneliness, worry, love. I felt like I was reliving March 2020 again. I was very lucky that I never had Covid-19. However, the author’s words really helped me understand what it was like and how she was feeling at the time. I cried for her and for others and felt an overwhelming sense of relief when she was finally released from hospital.

It seems as if there was very little editing done to Ward Nine before its release. The language is basic, sometimes thoughts scattered, as if it was directly lifted from the author’s journal. I liked that. It would have lost its emotion if the words have been played with too much. It is a book like this, and not any scientific journal, that will really show future generations how it was to live during the Coronavirus pandemic. Thank you, Alys, for sharing your story.

This is a memoir of Alys' experience as a COVID patient. It is written as a series of diary entries. She was diagnosed at the very beginning of the pandemic, when not much was known, with uncommon symptoms.
What struck me the most with this was the healthcare worker's care for their patients. We cannot thank them enough for all that they have done over the course of this pandemic.

Ward Nine: Coronavirus is a memoir written by Alys Morgan of her experience with the dreadful virus which left her hospitalised for three weeks. Morgan presents what it is like to have the virus and how hard it is for all the NHS workers who have helped during the Coronavirus pandemic. We follow her from when she had symptoms that were not originally listed as Coronavirus symptoms and at the time of writing this review still are not listed as symptoms on the NHS website, and then we follow her as she is supported mentally and physically in a hospital to help her recover. This is, as Morgan describes herself, a love letter to the NHS and Mind Wales.

I loved this book as it was very interesting to discover the virus through Morgan's eyes and also read details of how the nasty virus affected her. There are very few memoirs out yet regarding the Coronavirus and this is one of the first I have heard of and I think it is a great idea to share individual experiences of the virus to help people understand why we are isolating and following the government guidance. Furthermore, it reminds us, readers, just how great our NHS are and how they indeed deserve better, for example, better salaries. This book was extremely gripping and I found it incredibly hard to put down, I managed to read the book in only three days although I could have probably read it in two days!

I call this memoir a piece of Literature because I would say this book has lasting 'artistic' merit and I hope in many years from now this will be a text studied in English Literature at Secondary Schools just like texts like Macbeth are taught. This virus will obviously never be forgotten and books like this will be very valuable to the future generation and many people will thank Morgan for sharing her experiences of the virus.

I cannot say there is anything I disliked about this book. However, I can say I am a bit upset that the book was so short and I read it so quickly because I loved it so much and I wish there was more to read. This book is one of those books which you enjoy so much that you want more but you can't get more because you have finished the book. Hopefully, more people will publish memoirs in the future about Coronavirus and hopefully, they will be as good as this book so I can enjoy more Non-fiction COVID-19 Literature.

Altogether, I just have to rate this book 5 stars as it is an outstanding book that will be read for many many years. It will be one of those books which are still often read when it gets in the public domain. This book reminds us of what the age of Coronavirus was like and how next time we need to be better prepared and support our key workers more than we currently do. I recommend this book to many people and I hope when we are all grandparents we can pass this book to our grandchildren to teach them about the age of Covid. I would like to Thank Alys Morgan for sharing her experiences with the Coronavirus for many people to read. I also would like to thank Net Galley and Parthian Books for providing me with an arc copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Not really sure about this book, I liked parts of it and other parts I didn't. I suppose this is because it is a different style of read

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Corona Virus has effected us all in some way over the past 12-18 months, when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. Totally chilling as these events could happen to any of us. Highly recommended.

We are now in the second year of the global pandemic. Since late 2019, many parts of the world have been locked down, travel curtailed, and in many countries, the mandatory wearing of masks. In the early part of 2020, it was also common to see members of the public coming out regularly to openly support workers in essential services. These are the front-line workers in healthcare, people who face customers regularly, and those in public services who had gone beyond their call of duty to serve others. Most of us see these healthcare professionals and frontline workers from the outside. What about scenes from the inside? What about stories and perspectives that come from the patients of hospitals, especially in those wards that are focused on caring for Covid patients? This book is about the story of a Covid-19 patient admitted to a special ward on March 21st, 2020, and her 48-day journey to recovery.

Part One of the book describes all the activities prior to her entering Ward 9, the NHS Wales and Mind. It all began with caution. With impending city lockdown, public facilities like libraries were all preparing to close. People were told to avoid gathering in public and to stay home. The news throughout the country was about the lockdown. Soon Alys Morgan was working from home. Some people were panic buying. People were starting to wear masks when they venture outside. Ten days later, her daughter Caitlin got sick. Soon, Alys got the sniffles, which coincided with the British Prime Minister who was moved into the Intensive Care due to Covid-19. By mid-April, it was Alys turn to get sick. As her illness struggles linger longer, her daily notes grew shorter. Soon she had to be hospitalized. She has been infected by the dreaded coronavirus. Even in her weakened condition, she manages to put down her observations in writing. She writes about how she was admitted to hospital. She remembers the different nurses and doctors checking her blood pressure, taking her temperature, monitoring her overall health, and the presence of so many different medical specialists. It was a surreal moment when she saw her ward description: "Ward Nine. Coronavirus: No Unauthorised Entry."

Part Two of the book describes her daily struggles during her fight to recover from the coronavirus. All the medical staff was wearing full PPE. Working like a united army that fights the coronavirus, they tended to her in every possible way. Losing her appetite, she found it hard to sleep. As her condition deteriorates, she had to be put on tubes. Despite feeling terribly thirsty, she could only take sips. She describes her situation as: "I live in the hospital now. I am a sick person. My world is nothing but my hospital bed." She manages to see many different people helping to maintain the hospital, like the cleaners, the janitors, and the technicians. Due to the intense workload, all the staff was overworked and understaffed. The situation became dire at times when nurses say they don't have enough body bags!

The hospital experience is not something any of us would wish to go through. Covid-19 is a serious disease. By giving us an insight into the actual ward full of coronavirus patients, we get a glimpse of all the care of staff and the struggles of patients in one book. Written like a daily journal, readers get to follow the author through her ups and downs, her pains and reliefs, her emotional highs and lows, and many more. In a battle of life and death, Alys donned new perspectives of appreciation for all who worked in healthcare. She treasured the value of life and recovery. Reading this book helps me appreciate all the work that these healthcare professionals do. Every death in the ward brings tears of sorrow. Every patient who recovers brings tears of joy. Covid-19 is not a disease to be trifled with. For anyone who still questions whether the coronavirus is a hoax, read this book!

Ten percent of the cost of this book will be donated to Conwy Mind in helping them to support those, like Alys, who continue to be affected by the pandemic.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Parthian Books and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.