our collective narrative

Okay, I admit it. Yes, I am working on a memoir. It's an illness narrative that I share with my brother. It explores the wildly disparate outcomes of our hospitalization as young children with the same illness (rheumatic fever), at the same time, in the same place.



Buffalo Children's Hospital today

 

I could write about other aspects of my life in medicine. I could tell you what motivated me to go into medicine in the first place, and the chance encounter that clinched my decision. I could tell you about my most difficult cases as well as the amazing recoveries I've witnessed. I could write about my struggle to balance my professional life with my family life. But that's not the medical narrative you need to hear. That's all about me. 

 

"Healing yourself

is connected with healing others."

~Yoko Ono~

 

You need to know if my story reflects your story and how our narratives are connected. Not because we had the same illness, underwent the same treatment, or achieved the same outcome, but whether we share the same lingering aftermath of the experience. 

 

"People start to heal

the moment they feel heard."

~Cheryl Richardson~

 

Think about how illness shaped your life, affected your relationships, and influenced your moods. Did it leave you with fear? Anger? Shame? Or did you emerge healed? Grateful? Strong? What did illness teach you? What can you teach me?

 

Your story is uniquely yours, but it is, in fact, connected to everyone else's story on an emotional, psychological, and even spiritual level. Your voice makes our collective narrative deeper, stronger, and wiser.

 

"Tell your story

because your story will heal you

and it will heal someone else."

~Iyanla Vanzant~

jan