Introduction

CW: mental wellness, depression, anxiety, death/loss

Brandy and Landon pose in front of their home

This piece documents the multimodal writing and carework of two dual-career academics as they navigate the pandemic in a newly purchased home. Both have faced some degree of mental wellness obstacles at some point, and the stories here provide some (pre-pandemic) background that they believe establishes their responses to the pandemic and what carework looks like living through the pandemic. Ultimately, carework, their home, and their hobbies have converged in such a way that leisure activities and the results of those leisure activities bring them joy and satisfaction, which have proved monumental in supporting their wellness over the duration of the pandemic.

Brandy Dieterle

Brandy Dieterle is a Lecturer at a research-intensive university, though she has a teaching, non-tenure earning appointment. Brandy was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety when she was in middle school, and mental wellness plays an important part in her life. Within the last few years, she has discovered that crafting has been really useful for working through her anxiety.

Landon Berry

Landon Berry is an Associate Professor at a state college. Landon recently suffered the loss of a parent, and has struggled with workplace anxiety and the challenges of navigating the academic job market. He recently took up woodworking, which has shaped his approach to carework and allows him to make some cool projects for his and Brandy’s home.

Below are images of our projects and links to our journal entries.

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