How to Survive a Pandemic Without Feeling Guilt “It is complicated. There is no explanation. I did not do anything wrong. But I feel guilty,” Shruti Rao, a US-based children’s author laments over a phone call. As I listen to her, I wonder if there, in fact, is anything that happened over the last year makes any sense. I am writing this article from my living room, where I have been cooped in, since the pandemic struck. I am terrified at continuing to do so, for a considerable amount of time in 2021. With overwhelming remorse, indignity, and fear about the coming days.