Essential

Essential: Diary of a Public Transit Bus Operator (Volume 1) is an unfiltered, emotionally resonant chronicle of one man's journey working on the front lines during one of the most transformative periods in recent history. Spanning from April 2020 through January 2022, this powerful nonfiction diary captures the raw, day-to-day reality of being an "essential worker" in the public transit system during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author Isiah Greene invites readers into his personal world as a public transit bus operator, sharing entries filled with sharp insight, vulnerability, frustration, and hope. These pages reveal what it's like to carry the weight of a city, even as the world stood still-transporting healthcare workers, homeless passengers, and everyday riders, all while managing personal fears, mental health, and the struggle for dignity on the job.

More than just a collection of work experiences, this diary explores themes of survival, burnout, humanity, and self-reflection. With gripping honesty, Greene recounts tense encounters, quiet moments of observation, workplace challenges, and the silent strength it takes to keep going. He captures the emotional toll of showing up daily-masked, exhausted, and underappreciated-and the inner resolve to not only endure but to grow.

Essential is a timely and necessary voice in the broader conversation about labor, public service, and what it truly means to be "essential." It gives agency to the often-unseen individuals who keep our cities running. Readers from all walks of life-from transit workers to healthcare professionals to those who navigated the pandemic in their own way-will find themselves reflected in these pages.

This is not just a memoir. It's a contribution to working-class literature, a snapshot of our collective struggle, and a tribute to those who kept going when everything else stopped. Poignant, authentic, and deeply human, Essential is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the heartbeat of a city through the eyes of one of its operators.