Join us for readings from doctor poets and other healers
in response to COVID-19

Welcoming remarks and introduction of co-editors

Dr. James Kyung-Jin Lee
Director, Center for Medical Humanities
Associate Professor, Department of Asian American Studies
 

The book’s “backstory”
with Dr. Thelma T. Reyna, Dr. Frank L. Meyskens, Dr. Johanna Shapiro

After the coronavirus  invasion hit the United States in 2020, our nation was weary and battered, with schools, churches, public places shut down and the economy sputtering. In the second year of the COVID-19 outbreak, the heroism and devotion of U.S. healthcare workers stood strong-- despite burnout, despite assaults by virus-deniers, anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, despite purveyors of misinformation that hobbled our nation’s recovery. In this ground-breaking anthology, 26 poets and essayists—physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, private caregivers, holistic practitioners, medical school students, and a hospital chaplain—share their personal experiences navigating the pandemic and our changed lives, tending to patients, dealing with loss, uncertainty, grief, and isolation, surviving in a world turned topsy-turvy, continuing the fight to save lives through resilience, selflessness, and the eternal flame of hope.

Selected Readings from

Q&A with the Audience