The pandemic has brought communities together in some pretty cool ways. Case in point – this book. The editors of ‘Writing the Rollercoaster: Stories of Riding Out the Pandemic in Burlington‘, Lynda Simmons and Sylvia McNicoll joined us with more.

Simmons says she came up with the idea for this book because she had a desire to do something in response to the pandemic. 

“I was between anger and melancholy most of the time and then bursts of militant gratitude… I realized that making angry lemonade out of all my lemons was not serving me at all,” said Simmons. “So there had to be something else done…but what can I do? I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist-”

Simmons says she decided to turn to what she knows…writing. Instead of endlessly writing her own stories, she decided to make a platform for other people to tell their own stories. 

The City of Burlington Community Support Fund gave Simmons a grant to write the book.

“I was shocked,” said Simmons. “Okay, here we go, the rollercoaster is starting.”

McNicoll says she had just finished a big project as Simmons came up with the idea for the book. She says she was so tired after the big project, but when she heard Simmon’s idea, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to participate. 

“We didn’t have the funds or staff to have someone copy edit, so I definitely did that,” said McNicoll. “I also write books for children and I visit schools via Zoom. So, I would be in charge of trying to garner kids [for the book].”

The book features writers of all ages and styles. The book is available in the Burlington libraries and also has other distribution points including books stores and grocery stores. 

“The community support for this book has been wonderful,” said Simmons.