Westminster professor writes essay describing her COVID-19 experience

An essay detailing a Westminster College professor’s experience with COVID-19 has been published in the winter 2021 issue of Solstice Literary Magazine.  

“Waiting for the Bees,” written by Assistant Professor of English Trisha Cowen, recounts her family’s experience after Cowen was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the summer of 2020.

After contracting the virus from her 6-month-old baby, Cowen was not expecting the long-term side effects that the virus would bring.

“This was before the vaccine, before the antibody treatment was widespread, and before they knew much about ‘long-COVID,’ or the nuanced ways COVID could attack your body,” said Cowen.

Cowen wrote the essay about her experience to spread awareness about Post-COVID Syndrome. While mild or moderate COVID-19 lasts about two weeks for most people, others experience lingering health problems even after recovery.

“In the essay I attempt to write myself back into my own narrative, as I struggle to regain my memory and the use of my body,” said Cowen.

Cowen, who joined the Westminster faculty in 2018, earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in writing, literature and publishing from Emerson College and a doctorate in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University. She specializes in creative writing, American multicultural literature and transnational literature.

To read Cowen’s essay, click here.

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