Notes on Grief details Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s response to her father, James Nwoye Adichie’s, death on June 10, 2020. Although James died of kidney failure, his passing occurred amid the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent international lockdowns, which constitute a key backdrop for the essay’s exploration of loss.

The coronavirus broke out in late 2019 and spread around the globe by early 2020. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 an official pandemic. This declaration soon led “to some form of lockdown across almost all countries of the world” (Onyeaka, Helen, et al. “COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Global Lockdown and Its Far-Reaching Effects.” Science Progress, vol. 104, no. 2, 2021). The duration of these lockdowns varied from country to country, with strict stay-at-home orders lasting weeks to months. Schools, offices, churches, community centers, restaurants, and a range of other non-essential businesses also shuttered their windows. Because nations worldwide enforced travel restrictions, citizens were unable to travel between nations and often to return to their home countries. Even when lockdown restrictions loosened later in 2020, social distancing orders were put in place; citizens had to remain more than six feet apart from each other and often had to quarantine before such social contact.

According to the WHO, the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic lasted over three years; while the disease continued to circulate afterward, the WHO at this point removed the emergency designation (“Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Pandemic: Overview.” World Health Organization). The disease has impacted millions of citizens worldwide; the WHO’s estimated death toll was over 7 million as of March of 2026 (“Number of COVID-19 Deaths Reported to WHO (Cumulative Total).” World Health Organization). While lockdowns did not last the duration of the pandemic, this sweeping state of emergency had far-reaching and long-lasting effects. Studies on the pandemic’s impact conducted by the National Library of Medicine show that the pandemic impacted “crucial aspects of daily life globally, including: food security, global economy, education, tourism, hospitality, sports and leisure, gender relation, domestic violence/abuse, mental health and environmental air pollution” (Onyeaka). While lockdown and social distancing measures were meant to stop the spread of the virus, these same safety measures led to other forms of physical, emotional, or financial endangerment. 

It is within this context that Adichie learned of James’s unexpected passing. At the time of his death, Adichie was living in the United States and was in lockdown. Meanwhile, James and the rest of her family were living in Nigeria, also in lockdown. Even before James fell ill and died, Adichie was struggling with the restrictive, alienating parameters of her new COVID-19 reality. James’s death intensified her isolation, heightening the separation between her and her loved ones.