I’m a physician and storyteller. How does a physician become a storyteller? Well, that’s a long story (coming soon), but right now I’ll just say that “healing” comes to us in so many different way. Today, along with my stethoscope and my prescription pad … I carry stories as my medicine. Stories are Medicine Stories …Read More
Blog
What is sex?
Sara could not believe this was her first day as a substitute teacher for 2nd grade. This was supposed to be an easy day. They were practicing for the standardized test required by the state. The number two pencils were sharpened. She had passed out the sheets for bubbling in their answers. The students were …Read More
Stigma & Medicine ~ Nathalia Holt, PhD
“We can’t possibly change medicine until we change opinions.”~ Dr. Nathalia Holt, PhD In 1940, Mary Woodward Lasker married Albert Lasker, a retired advertising executive. This union would change the face of medical research. Together, they launched a campaign to promote medical research. They did not just donate money to researchers. They did not just …Read More
The Hill We Climb ~ Amanda Gorman
This 22-year-old took the stage as Inaugural Poet with such grace and poise that I have no words to add. Watch Amanda Gorman reads her Inaugural Poem, The Hill We Climb Read the transcript here. Read other inaugural poems here.
Man rain, woman rain
My mom once told me the difference between man rain and woman rain. Here in Florida, the humid summer months bring rainstorms every afternoon like clockwork. “The weather is horrible! It rains every day,” complained a friend who recently moved from New York. “But the rest of the day is fine,” I said. Growing up …Read More
Qarrtsiluni ~ in the darkness
Qarrtsiluni. Inuit, Iñupiaq / v. / kʌːrʒ.sɪ.luːnɪ / kartz-sih-loo-nih – Sitting together in the darkness, perhaps expectantly (e.g., waiting for something to happen or to ‘burst forth’); the strange quiet before a momentous event. The hunters gather quietly inside. One by one, they enter and sit in the silent darkness. No lamps, no light, they …Read More
A Doctor’s Touch ~ Abraham Verghese
“The doctor did not even touch me,” a patient complains about a recent visit to an emergency room. The diagnostic tool of the physical examination fades into the background as more modern diagnostic tools take over. In a strange paradox, technology allows the doctor to peer deep inside the body, but at the same time …Read More
The Cliché of Cinderella
Nearly every child in America can tell you the story of Cinderella. Some of them have watched the Disney version of the movie so often they can recite the dialogue. By the time they are old enough for the story of Cinderella to be of real emotional help to them, they have heard it so …Read More
The Year ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The Year by Ella Wheeler Wilcox What can be said in New Year rhymes,That’s not been said a thousand times? The new years come, the old years go,We know we dream, we dream we know. We rise up laughing with the light,We lie down weeping with the night. We hug the world until it stings,We …Read More
Winter Solstice ~ Season of Yule
December 21st marks the Winter Solstice. This is the darkest of days — the day with the shortest daylight hours. From here on out, the days get longer. Even in the depth of the winter season, this is the day to celebrate the returning of the light. My friend Janis McCall lives in Scotland where …Read More