A Book Is Born

Today is the day. A History of the Present Illness is on shelves in bookstores and but a click or download away online. The official publishing term for this day is launch. To me, it more closely resembles a birth. Certainly the path to this point has included sweat...

The Books Are Almost on the Shelves

A History of the Present Illness hits bookstores, mailboxes, and e-readers in just five days, and the excitement has already begun! Yesterday, I was at Book Passage, one of the Bay Area’s best independent bookstores, to sign over 300 books for their Signed First...

The Next Big Thing

NOTE: The Next Big Thing is a blog chain, winding its way through the internet. Today, I’m delighted to participate by answering a few questions about my new book. Big thanks to NATALIE SERBER for inviting me to join in. You can find out more about Natalie’s NYT/SF...

Writing About Medicine I

Eight of the 24 essays in the 2012 Best American Essays collection were about medicine. The topics included menopause as a vehicle to the true self, a writing class for children at a cancer hospital, the life of a rural druggist, why so many of Americans now take...

My Christmas Books and The Importance of Being Alice (Munro)

Under the Christmas tree for me this year:          This last book has made every top 10 list I have seen. Although the octogenarian author Alice Munro has been writing for decades, it’s only in recent years – since she received the Man Booker prize in...