In March of 2020, the United States found itself in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. With new and alarming mandates thrust onto the public seemingly overnight, many lives were turned upside down. The world as we had all once known it became unrecognizable. Businesses and schools closed and unemployment rates skyrocketed. And then, there was the stay-at-home mandate. Three simple words that wreaked havoc on a nation. Stay at home. Such a simple request and yet the consequences have yet to be fully understood. The Mandate follows the story of Brandy, a school teacher in the state of Nevada, as she travels through these uncertain times, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in a time of uncertainty. Through Brandy's personal text message threads with family and friends, the reader will be offered a unique and intimate look into how individuals, just like you and me, handled the daily struggles of the stay-at-home order. The bills, the fighting, the lies, the arguments, the addictions, and so much more. Now coupled with isolation and loneliness and despair. Brandy's journey is a complicated one with no easy answers. A journey of loss and triumph, failure and hope. And, in the end, did any of it even matter?