Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Kate Baggott

  • A love-driven model of suicide prevention

    Kate BaggottSt. Catharines, Ontario, Canada The suicide barrier on the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto is called the Luminous Veil. The beauty of the title is that it is intentional and intelligent. Construction of the barrier started in 2003 after more than a decade of advocacy. It was installed just a few years after the…

  • How to treat a broken heart: An instruction guide

    Kate BaggottOntario, Canada Human beings are callous creatures. We pursue our own agendas, desires, and happiness at the expense of those who would love us. We have all done it. We have all disputed the purity of another’s love. We have all had our hearts broken in turn. We all know this state; of mourning,…

  • A difficult diagnosis: Humor—how we laugh at doctors

    Kate BaggottSt. Catharines, Ontario, Canada “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it,”1 silent film star Charlie Chaplin wrote in his autobiography. Chaplin’s words do not exactly connect the funny bone to the humerus, and the anatomy of comedy has never been easy to chart, especially when it…