Cities on a Hill

By Josh Urban

Stay Home. Stay Safe.
Two weeks is a long time when you're ninety. While America spent two weeks to flatten the curve of COVID, then two more, and the two more, indefinitely, the elderly in nursing homes missed holidays, family, and their last months.

Some were content. Others went insane. Many died alone. All were inspirational.

This is a witnessing of their days.

From the Author

We all participated in the colossal experiment of the lockdowns. It was easy to see the shattering in our lives, but the elderly in nursing homes were invisible, forbidden. Until now. I'm on a mission to share the stories, grace, and wisdom of my late friends, and to the their last days. I spent 21 months working in a retirement home during the pandemic. Many of the people died in that time—not of COVID, but of loneliness and isolation. (And the virus spread anyway.) A resident suggested I write this book, so I did. These brave souls are history now, living in the pages. There are uncomfortable questions to ask ourselves: what is the price of "safety"? How do we live well? What does it mean to be human? And how can we avoid a repeat?

This book is a witnessing.