I never intended to write about worlds permeated by medicine, healing, and illness. But my personal experiences as a physician, patient, family member, and general human were complicated and messy in ways that were unlike what I was reading. Through writing– stories and narrative essays– I could better examine those small moments that are often complex and uncomfortable. The process of writing and rewriting is often my only way to make sense of the seeming nonsensical and hold a mirror to the emotional warts and conflicting motivations that are a source of shame, connection, and even humor for many of us.
