Covid stories: A narrative exploration of experiences of the pandemic among members of an academic research group

A narrative longitudinal study of experiences and lessons learnt by an English academic research
group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the research group acted as both participants
and researchers. Each member of the group wrote their own accounts of academic and personal
experiences during the pandemic at two timepoints. Key lessons learnt included, Resilience, Redemption, Self-Discovery, Personal strategies, Academic skills, Realisation, Acceptance, and Resignation. At
timepoint one, the stories were generally progressive and were best described as accounts of a
journey. Performative aspects of the stories were found to include defended elements experienced
as ‘holes’ in the narratives. At timepoint two, narratives were characterised by a sense of heaviness
and ‘stuckness’ but a developing openness in the accounts and group discussions emerged. The
research process was found to be therapeutic in supporting participants to create shared and
personal meaning of events related to the pandemic, but also in developing a group identity,
openness and shared bond.