Specific Gravity

Specific Gravity

  Specific Gravity Once my heart was ballast in my chest, so sinkingly heavy I couldn’t stand. I slept for as many hours as there were memories. I couldn’t bear to look at myself, at my bloated face, my dull eyes. As time went on, I learned to throw everything,...

Not Posting Because I’m Writing

A newsletter I follow, 33 Charts, a blog on Medicine and Technology by Bryan Vartabedian, MD, came back online with an apology for “going dark” after nothing was posted for several weeks. Metaphors matter. I prefer Jocelyn Glei’s language for gaps in creativity, lying...

Resolutions: A Kinder Approach

This year, 2020, feels different to me. Last year, I was organized and disciplined about the way I approached my annual goals. I planned in December 2018, and I hit the ground running. I had two goals for each quarter of the year, and I made significant progress on...

World AIDS Day 2019: Grief and Remembrance

This week, I was asked to speak at the AtlantiCare World AIDS Day Remembrance Ceremony. I’ve written about World AIDS Day before, as an illustration of teamwork in healthcare and as an example of attending to grief. I think what I like best about World AIDS Day is...

Thank You for Connecting with Me

The feeling of connection with my readers is what keeps me writing week after week. Today, I rediscovered the website of another woman physician, Dr. Catherine Cheng, whose blog is titled Healing Through Connection.  She is an internist from Chicago, and she...

Lifelong Learning: The Pull of Curiosity

I’ve been a productive writer recently, even if I haven’t been able to keep up the pace for NaNoWriMo. After five months of working with my book coach, the structure of my memoir is beginning to take shape. In my naivete, I’d hoped to have the first draft done at the...