The Books Are Almost on the Shelves

Jan 17, 2013 | News and Updates, Writing

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...

Writing About Medicine II

Jan 10, 2013 | Health Care, Public Medical Communication, Writing

There are many ways to write about health, medicine, and health care. And there are many people – patients, caregivers, policymakers, pundits, thought leaders, and health professionals – in a position to do so. Fortunately, the world also offers a similar and growing...

The Next Big Thing

Jan 7, 2013 | Writing

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

Jan 3, 2013 | Public Medical Communication, Writing

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...

An American Problem

Dec 20, 2012 | Patients

It has been hard this week in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings not to think of children, and of all the ways in which they can be and are hurt. It has also seemed important to think about how we can help, if only by talking to the children we know and checking in...