In the Introduction to These Precious Days, Ann Patchett describes how the collection of essays came to be. Although she had been in an essay-writing spate, after penning the title piece, Patchett decides she wants it to be housed in a book. This essay is about Patchett’s friend and artist, Sooki Raphael, who battled pancreatic cancer. Patchett invited Sooki to stay with her while participating in a clinical trial in Nashville, where Patchett lives. Early in the trial, the coronavirus pandemic struck, and Sooki was stranded at Patchett’s house for longer than anticipated. This allowed Patchett to witness and be a part of Sooki’s experience in an intimate way.

The emergence of the novel virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), led to a global pandemic. The first case of this severely contagious and deadly disease was identified in the Wuhan province in China in December 2019, leading the disease to be termed COVID-19. The high transmissibility of the virus, combined with disease symptoms ranging from undetectable to deadly, led to panic worldwide as the virus rapidly spread across borders and caused millions of deaths. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020.