Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: laughter

  • The tortoise and the hare: a pandemic perspective

    Pranita Rao  Pune, India   The Tortoise and the Hare. Illustration From The Æsop for Children, by Æsop, illustrated by Milo Winter. Project Gutenberg.  “Are you ready to lose again?” smirked the hare, looking down at the tortoise who was warming up for their weekly running challenge. The tortoise spent his days training body and mind to win races against the…

  • The anatomy of bibliotherapy: How fiction heals, part III

    Dustin Grinnell  Boston, Massachusetts, United States   Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche. Photo by Gustav Schultze. 1882. Taken from Nietzsche by Walter Kaufmann, Fourth Edition. Public Domain. A cure for loneliness In the video “What is Literature For?” produced by The School of Life, author Alain de Botton claims that books are a cure for loneliness.…

  • Rethinking the impulse to empathize: a sister’s perspective on sympathy and stigma

    Jeanne Farnan Pennsylvania, United States   Mary Cassatt, Mother Combing Sara’s Hair, 1901. Private collection. Web Gallery of Impressionism “I am so sorry.” My youngest sister, Annie, was born during the spring semester of my first year of high school. These four words are etched into my memory, integrally intertwined with the events of that…

  • Warning: laughter can be hazardous to your illness

    Bharata Wingham Buckingham, Virginia, United States     Photography by Chris Keiss A cheerful heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit makes one sick. —Proverbs 17:22   Laugh for the health of it! When is the last time you had a good laugh? This was a question I used to ask myself…

  • Healing through laughter

    Farrah Bui New Jersey, United States   Laughing boy, c. 1625 Frans Hals Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague “If there is one thing to know about me, it’s that I refuse to ever eat honey again,” Ben explains to the audience. Immediately, looks of confusion and raised eyebrows appear among the faces in the…