Neighbors: Stories from Anchorage’s Pandemic Years

Neighbors: Stories from Anchorage’s Pandemic Years was a collaboration between the Anchorage Museum and the Anchorage Daily News to collect and reflect the experiences of Anchorage residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling the human story of what we’ve went through and envisioning together what the future might look like.

Together with our community, we examined the ways the pandemic had changed us -- what we lost, how we struggled, what we learned, and how we adapted. 

This project was facilitated by Anchorage Museum former writer-in-residence Julia O’Malley, who conducted interviews with individuals, gathered feedback through surveys, and led community journaling and writing workshops. Funding for this project was provided in part by the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism.

Stories

An Anchorage doctor’s office has become a destination for patients whose lives have been upended by long COVID

Dr. Luke Liu’s clinic will soon begin recruiting patients for a pilot study of a treatment for long COVID symptoms.

After years of pandemic disruption, Alaskans are setting more places at the Thanksgiving table

COVID hasn’t gone away, but with vaccines and treatments, Alaskans are returning to holiday traditions that feel more precious.

A blessing for mothers in pandemic times

This piece came out of a recent class, where writers explored the form of a blessing with Anchorage Museum writer-in-residence Julia O'Malley.

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About Julia O'Malley

Julia O'malley Nathaniel Wilder

Julia O’Malley, a third-generation Alaskan, is a journalist, teacher, and editor who lives in Anchorage. Her work over the last two decades has explored Alaska’s politics, culture, climate, and food. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation and The Washington Post, among other publications. She has served as the Atwood Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She got her start as a reporter and columnist at the Anchorage Daily News.

Her book about Alaska’s food culture, The Whale and The Cupcake: Stories of Subsistence, Longing, and Community in Alaska, co-published by the Anchorage Museum and University of Washington Press, came out in December 2019.

Photo by Nathaniel Wilder

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