I’m resting on the recliner. Without realizing it, I pick up the phone. Unlock the screen and click on the email app. It’s almost as if some entity had taken over my body. I know there’s no new email or text. The phone has no alerts, but something inside of me is searching. If I …Read More
Author: Dr. Joel Ying, MD
Physician-Educator-Storyteller. Integrating the power of story into medicine, healing sessions, workshops, speaking and performance.
The Answer to Life the Universe and Everything
“How old are you?” we asked as we gathered at the Thai restaurant for a birthday dinner celebration. I was already debating between Red Thai Curry, that delicious explosion of delicate coconut and hot pepper spices, or the old standard of Pad Thai noodles. “Forty-two,” he said with the same look that a child might …Read More
When is the doctor coming?
Wearing a face mask covers the patch of gray that is now my beard. When the lady at the cash register confuses me for one of the college students, I smile inside. I suddenly realize that the mask makes me look decades younger… and I like looking younger! As middle age has stealthily set in, …Read More
To Thine Own Self Be True ~ Shakespeare
Polonius gives advice to his son, Laertes, in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. Laertes is leaving Denmark to study abroad in France. Polonius states that he only has a “few precepts,” but his long-winded speech goes on and on as a sort-of comic relief in the middle of the tragedy. In high school, I recited this speech …Read More
Grandmother Tree
Grandmother Tree by Dr. Joel Ying I remember the great grandmother tree of Claymont Mansion. The dappled light under the shade of her branches; the wind rustling the leaves into the rich moist soil. Grandmother has seen many suns, moons, and stars. A lark sings to the beauty of her nurturing. Walking paths meander here …Read More
Remembering Vincent Chin ~ Annie Tan
How do you turn tragedy into prayer? … a prayer for a better world … a prayer for justice … a prayer for healing … June 19, 2022, marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Vincent Chin. The Asian American community united in response and worked to expand the protections against hate crimes. Learn …Read More
Oath of an Engineer
The steel ring, notable for its simplicity of engineering, is placed on the little finger of his right hand, his dominant hand. The ring symbolizes the strength of the profession as it touches all that he will do. Along with his fellow graduating classmates, he takes the ceremonial oath of his profession to serve “the …Read More
Neonatal Step-Down Unit
“You seem traumatized,” said my friend the neonatologist–a pediatrician that takes care of newborn babies. I was telling the story of my very first rotation decades earlier as a medical resident fresh from medical school. I was assigned to the neonatal step down unit where I was expected to be the doctor. The unit had …Read More
Grit ~ Angela Lee Duckworth
In the 11th grade, I joined the track team with the dream of becoming an athletic nerd–the straight-A athlete that every college would want. The counselors told me that I needed to be “well-rounded” in order to get into a good college, and I was determined. I had been on the cross country team, and …Read More
A Story A Day ~ Tim Lowry
“A story a day keeps the boredom away.” My dear friend and fellow storyteller, Tim Lowry, is posting a story a day on YouTube for school kids throughout the month of May… the final stretch before summer vacation. The video below is recorded with a lively audience of 2nd graders. Ask your local schools to …Read More