When the pandemic began in March 2020, Calgary emergency physician Heather Patterson was already feeling burnt out. Photography had always been a way of unwinding for her, and as the pandemic gathered speed, Patterson decided to begin chronicling it. Shadows and Light presents a selection of Patterson’s images, taking readers to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and giving them an illuminating, behind-the-scenes view of the real impact of the virus and the heroic front-line workers who have been fighting it for over two years.

Patterson’s expert lens gives incredible insight into the life of healthcare workers — physicians, nurses, and hospital support staff — during the pandemic, and what patients experience when hospitalized with COVID. Yet, amid the isolation of lockdowns and a seemingly never-ending cycle of new restrictions associated with new variants, Patterson finds hope and a renewed sense of purpose in the resilience of the human spirit and the inspiring fortitude of Canada’s often invisible pandemic heroes.