What does it mean to experience a deadly epidemic? To better understand our current COVID-19 crisis, historians Jorge Díaz Ceballos, Ian Hathaway, and Gašper Jakovac explore the long history of people’s encounters with epidemics. Teaming up with other scholars, they delve into individual sources and personal narratives, providing diverse and thought-provoking insights into the emotional, intellectual, social, and political challenges faced by individuals and communities who experienced epidemics before the rise of modern germ theory.