Tag: Personal Narratives
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My mother and Proust
Dean Gianakos Lynchburg, Virginia, United States “Mom, one day I’m going to write a story about you. I’ve already picked out a title: “My Mother and Proust,” I laugh. I look at her face, hoping for a smile. Before my eighty-six-year-old mother developed Parkinson’s dementia a few years ago, she would have laughed with…
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Distant memories of medical school – 1950–1954
Martin Duke Mystic, Connecticut, United States The New York University School of Medicine, 28th Street Building on First Avenue, New York City, opposite Bellevue Hospital, circa 1951. How sweet the silent backward tracings! The wanderings as in dreams—the meditation of old times resumed—their loves, joys, persons, voyages. — Memories by Walt Whitman (1819–1892)1 …
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Pitch dark
Ochiche Ijeoma Lagos, Nigeria Pitch dark before midnight I had observed many surgical operations as a medical student so I knew what to expect. The rules about changing clothes and footwear, the strict hand washing routine, the complex method of putting on the aprons, gowns, and gloves had been drummed into my ears and…
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Immigrating to the in-between
Maia Evrona Massachusetts, United States Photo courtesy of Maia Evrona “But you have an accent. Where are you from originally?” I have learned to expect this question whenever I make a new acquaintance, whether the meeting occurs outside of the United States or in my home state of Massachusetts. There are few experiences more surreal…
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Cancer class
Emily Dieckman Tuscon, Arizona, United States The author’s aunt documented her mom’s chemotherapy journey through photographs, making signs for loved ones to hold in photographs to show support. (Author photo.) When my parents told me about the cancer, everything felt different. It seemed the entire world had suddenly gone from plain font to italics –…
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The seeds of resilience
Bryanne Standifer Redford, Michigan, United States Downtown Detroit, MI “When I think about the city of Detroit, I don’t see a city filled with unskilled and uneducated laborers, I see a platform of opportunity.” One Friday morning in high school, I counted fourteen murders in one week in the city that I call home. …
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Family encounters with pathogens 100 years apart
Meredith Wright New York City, New York, United States Photo of the author’s great-grandmother, Anna, and Anna’s memoir. The memoir was organized by Anna’s daughter Fortunata and has become an important part of the family’s history. Original photograph by Meredith Wright, 2018. After my mother died, I became obsessed with preserving family memories and…
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Trauma vicariously: a writer’s madness
Kirsten Fogg Toronto, Ontario, Canada The author, Kirsten Fogg, at the State Library of Queensland, Brisbane Australia. It started with a lump in my throat. Actually, it started before that. Last year when I embarked on a project gathering stories of belonging, I tried to be witty and philosophical by quoting author Ben Okri.…
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The disease you do not see
Aaron Berkowitz New York, New York, USA Self Portrait, By Aaron Berkowitz (author) You look normal, good even. Statistically you are bigger, stronger than billions of people alive (and those who have died). You learn to repeat mantras to affirm your being. There is power in prayer when action is impossible. You cry more…
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How to treat a broken heart: An instruction guide
Kate Baggott Ontario, 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;…