What We Should Do When This Is Over

Dear You, 

I’m writing to let you know that the second book in my short-book project is out. It’s called What We Should Do When This Is Over and it follows an old man and a young boy as they try to navigate a world in which no one goes outside anymore and normal seems very, very far away. 

I wrote this book, with illustrations by my good friend and artist Rikus Ferreira, to deal with my own anxiety about the pandemic and to talk about the mundane, everyday things that I miss. This morning, my 3 nearly-4 year old asked me if we could go to the beach and I had to try and explain, again, about the really bad cold that’s going around and that’s why we can’t go to the beach. Or to the playground. In two weeks, I’m going to have to try and explain why she’s not going to have the birthday party I know she wanted. And her birthday is the day after mine. Remember the world where someone would blow on a cake and we would all eat it? Everything feels so far away. 

Between days when I could accomplish nothing and nights when I can’t stop working, I made this. The friends I’ve shared it with so far have responded positively to it and I hope my readers enjoy it too. 

You can buy a copy and read more here.

I’ll be doing some live readings on instagram and Facebook soon, so keep an eye out for those.

Thank you for your time. I hope you’re well out there and I send you my absolute best, 

Iain S. Thomas