Exclusive subscriber offer: 30% off Life As We Knew It

On February 3, 2020, a hush fell over the boardroom at Scarborough House in Canberra when Australia’s foremost public health officials were handed modelling from the Doherty Institute and University of Melbourne.

Life As We Knew It by Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham.

“This is not controllable,” thought Professor Allen Cheng, as the infectious disease physician scanned a short document peppered with graphs. “This is going to come to Australia sometime, and it looks bad.”

Life As We Knew It, a new book by journalists Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham, is a gripping exploration of Australia’s COVID-19 response and the pandemic’s incredible untold human stories.

With unmatched access to Australia’s top politicians and pandemic officials, the book delves into the worst days of the pandemic and its terrible disasters. But it also shows Australians at their best, the weird and the wonderful, and a public spirit of collectivism that set the country apart.

Dow and Cunningham travel across the nation, shedding new light on the disruptive outbreaks that plunged Victoria and New South Wales into lockdowns.

Based on more than 150 interviews, it also examines the unique experience of Australia’s COVID-zero states and territories: Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory — places where it sometimes felt like the pandemic didn’t exist.

Many of the most significant moments in Australia’s pandemic happened behind closed doors. Life As We Knew It lifts the curtain.

In a special deal for subscribers, you can get 30 per cent off the retail price of Life As We Knew It from Scribe with the coupon code LAWKI23. This offer is available until October 31. Free shipping within Australia, or $10 overseas.