In March 2020, the month that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, 27-year-old Eastern Henrico resident Jasmin Merdach gave birth to her daughter, Lilly. Just a year later, she has written and published a book in time for her daughter’s first birthday. Just before becoming a mother, Merdach (a biology major at Virginia Commonwealth University) had left her job as a lab technologist at Salveo Diagnostics Lab. "I went to school with the intention of studying pharmacy," Merdach said. "I realized halfway through the semester that it was not for me. My experience as a pharmacy technician helped...