About us
Dr. Claire Standley is a global public health researcher who specialises in infectious disease preparedness and response. She lives in Heidelberg, Germany with her husband, three year old daughter (the inspiration for Elsie!), and one year old son.
Dr. Hannah Smith is an NHS GP who returned to work from maternity leave as the COVID-19 pandemic gathered pace. She has a special interest in paediatrics and psychology, and a fondness for drawing! She lives in London, UK with her husband and two young boys, Teddy and Stanley.
Dr. Eleanor Southgate is a GP in training and Academic Clinical Fellow in Primary Care. Her second son was born at the end of 2019 and, with her partner working antisocial shifts in intensive care, she has spent her maternity leave telling stories to her 3 year old to help him make sense of the changes brought about by the pandemic. She lives in London, UK.
After 20 years of friendship, the authors are now navigating parenthood together. This is their first book.
Our thanks
We are extremely grateful to our support team: Hatty Morris for creative input and her accurate depiction of us at work, Richard Southgate for his expertise in formatting and design, Marianne Kavanagh for her first-class editing, to Tim Knowles for the website and technical support, and to our families, friends and colleagues for support and invaluable feedback.