Abstract
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the lives of nurses. To capture these experiences, the AANP history committee sponsored a writing contest. The stories, essays, and poems were heartfelt and ranged from personal experiences to future implications. One essay entitled "The Five Stages of COVID Grief: One Nurse Practitioner's Coronavirus Story," captured the essence of the time and is applicable to all nurses as we continue our journey and document our legacy. Using the framework of COVID Grief, this article seeks to outline the shared experience and range of emotions represented in the writing contest submissions. Through this lens, the Year of the Nurse and the toll of coronavirus can be framed by the emotions of disbelief, bitterness, guilt, fear and anxiety, and resilience.