In her book 'Disposable', Sarah P. Jones explores the stark realities faced by America’s underclass during the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasizing the struggles for affordable healthcare. Blending personal narrative with social commentary, she recounts her grandfather's experience and death from the virus, illustrating a broader systemic issue. The book not only highlights individual stories but also addresses the implications of labor conditions during the pandemic, particularly for essential workers risking their lives to keep the economy functioning. Jones aims to provide a well-rounded depiction that prioritizes her subjects’ experiences while sharing her motivations as a journalist.
Disposable is about sickness but it is also about work. For New York magazine, and before that the New Republic, Jones had covered a lot of labor stories.
I worked very hard to make sure that the book really was more about the people I was talking to and less about me, but it did feel like it was important for people to know why I was interested in the subject matter.
My grandfather's death was an individual tragedy but as a journalist I knew it was part of a much larger systemic issue affecting the underclass.
Covid was, among many things, a huge labor story with dramatic implications for essential workers who were really putting their lives on the line.
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