I’m Deborah Bayer, writer and workshop facilitator.

I am (mostly) retired from the practice of Infectious Disease and Palliative Care. I write poems and personal essays, and I’m working on a memoir about the need for emotional support in the workplace. I’m passionate about the healing power of writing. Part of the emotional support I write about comes from engaging in the creative process.

I have honed my craft in Peter Murphy’s workshops (Now Murphy Writing of Stockton University), and I have had the great fortune to study under Kathleen Graber, Cynthia Arrieu-King, Stephen Dunn, and Mark Doty. I spent my early years in Brazil, and now I live outside of Atlantic City, NJ with my husband.

Where I’ve Been Featured:

The Last Word podcast. Hear me read from poems from Rope Made of Bandages.

Interview on Local Lyrics from The Mad Poets Society

Interview by April Davila

Workshops and Writing Groups

I facilitate writing groups via Zoom. These groups blend the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) methodology with the Narrative Medicine workshop format. I was certified as an AWA facilitator in 2017, and I took online classes at Columbia University in their Narrative Medicine program. I combine these two approaches in my facilitation. The supportive approach of the AWA method lends itself to healing from all kinds of trauma, including the trauma of medical training.

Follow me on Substack

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