Intima Archives | NON-FICTION - A-L by title
A Billion Heartbeats | Rod Tanchanco | FALL 2016
The power of a pacemaker keeps the heart young.
A Body in Motion | Virginia Chang | SPRING 2022
Travel time-out: A woman takes her friend on a final ride back to his family.
Abortion Waiting Rooms | Jacquelyn Leung | FALL 2022
Medical training teaches you one thing, reality shows you another: At the end of residency, a young doctor learns lifelong lessons from a new environment and the women she meets there.
A Crash Course in the Wonders of Dying | June Leavitt | FALL 2022
Watching the death of her husband, a woman appreciates the mystical side of the transition.
A Crippled Cassandra | Kelley Shinn | FALL 2013
When a doctor tells her she'll never have children after losing her legs at sixteen, a writer predicts a different outcome for her life.
A Crippled Piano | Sheila Luna | SPRING 2022
What does conversing with angels look like? A pianist with rheumatoid arthritis finds solace in Bach.
Accumulations | Justin Millan | FALL 2019
The inner voice of a first responder takes a deep dive into morality.
A Dialysis Diary | Kristin Camitta Zimet | FALL 2023
Intimate in all the ways a prose-poem is, this lyrical accounting of a husband’s illness reflects on marriage, love, children and the bewildering after-life of a surviving lover.
Against the Glass | Will Moody | FALL 2021
The humanities unite two people facing a deadly enemy.
A Hard Case | Eileen Valinoti | SPRING 2020
Some might argue that all cases are difficult in their own way. Here is a riveting reflection of the unpredictability and complexities of bedside nursing.
Always Fine | Jane Ratcliffe | FALL 2022
Intergenerational trauma affects the mind and body of the author.
Amazonia | Dena Brownstein | SPRING 2022
A breast cancer patient challenges a common myth.
Ambulance Stories | Benjamin Blue | SPRING 2022
Narratives can be like snapshots into a patient’s life struggles. An EMT takes a clear look at all the blurry edges in these tales about how far we still must go toward empathetic care of disenfranchised patients.
And I Submitted | Catherine Humikowski | SPRING 2023
A mother gaining a child and a mother losing a child connect.
And Not To Be | Adam Lalley | SPRING 2020
A grandson wonders when life really ends — and if it ever ends completely.
And Now There Were Six | Reem Abdel Hameid | FALL 2021
A young doctor witnesses the beginning of a precious human life.
An Existential Unmarked Grave | Matthew Westfall | FALL 2022
How do we respect a patient’s wishes when we disagree with them? A medical student faces an ethical conundrum.
A Nice Shade of Lipstick | Julie Sumner | SPRING 2024
‘Keeping up appearances’ is an old-fashioned way of describing the rituals performed during adversity. One such ritual: Applying just the right shade of lip color, as one critical care clinician describes.
An Offering | Susan Hall | FALL 2023
Moments when memories arise can be painful but joyful too. A mother considers parenthood’s expectations and let-downs.
Another Day of Childhood | Amanda Ford | SPRING 2024
Parenting presents quandaries, especially when living with pain.
Another Game Day | Meredith O’Brien | FALL 2021
Chronic disease affects much more than we think.
Another Long Day | Leslie Lewis | FALL 2022
An exhausted spouse is gifted a moment of respite
Another Look at Dying | Flo Gelo | FALL 2021
Two older women form an unbreakable bond as together they approach the end of life.
Apple Slices and Peanut Butter | Matthew Westfall | FALL 2021
A medical student learns a powerful lesson in humility.
A Rusted Bronze Star | Sarah Bugg | FALL 2018
When an old war hero confronts a young resident, the doctor learns how much has really been lost
After | Melissa Cronin | FALL 2017
Two sisters experience an irrevocable separation.
Again | Randy Hale | SPRING 2015
The possibility of a second battle with illness leads to a different reaction from the first time
A Good Night Out | Tim Cunningham | SPRING 2014
An ER nurse struggles with the concept of compassion during a patient encounter.
A Life Less Terrifying: The Re-Visionary Lens of Illness | Ann Wallace | SPRING 2016
What does it mean to look back, relocate our identity, and revise our story?
The Anatomy Lesson | Olivia DiLeonardo | SPRING 2016
A woman learns more than just anatomy when she visits a dissection lab.
The Astronaut | Benjamin Teasdale | SPRING 2022
Love at first flight: A medical student provides a touching snapshot of an aging romance.
An Unexpected Healer | Julia McGuinness | FALL 2014
At the intersection of medical training and a personal tragedy, a first year student unlocks a profound truth.
Are You the Wife? Narrating a Week of Loss | Rondalyn Whitney | FALL 2020
A husband's abrupt death sends his wife on a trajectory into the past that prepares her to face the future.
Are You the Worm Girl? | Alyson Lee | SPRING 2021
What is it like to find out your diagnosis involves a parasite? ‘Funny’ is one way of looking at it.
A Year With 'Susan' | Chris Cai | FALL 2014
Sometimes, says a public health student, developing a friendship has more impact than a lecture.
Baby Girl | Erin George | SPRING 2017
A heart-wrenching tale of a young life.
The Baby on the Bus | Nina Gaby | SPRING 2015
Baby’s Story | Pablo Romano | SPRING 2020
The death of a beloved pet leads to an understanding of connections.
Barbie Feet | Becca Baisch | SPRING 2023
A young patient finds her doctor’s shoes bring comfort.
Beauty | Ann Casapini | SPRING 2015
When the wounded warrior has left the battlefield, what then?
Being Seen | Cara Haberman | FALL 2020
In the unlikeliest place (the hospital parking garage), a pediatrician finds a quirky kind of acknowledgement after a hard day.
Believing in Chinese Medicine | Lily Chan | FALL 2014
A medical student, raised on herbal remedies (banlengen and snake gallbladder extract to name a few), considers how an Eastern philosophy of healing has affected her clinical viewpoint today.
Best Brother | Hui-wen Sato | SPRING 2020
There are many ways to say goodbye: A paralyzed patient uses an unusual method.
The Best There Is? | Barbara Pilvin | SPRING 2014
The conflicts and contradictions of living with a condition such as lymphedema.
Birdwatcher | Peter Bingham | FALL 2021
Taking flight: The tender, yet unlikely pilgrimage a pediatric neurologist does to heal.
Body of Work | Anna Dovre | FALL 2023
Anatomy lab, learning to intubate, first death, corpses: This cadaver tale goes deep in its meditation on the nuts and bolts of mortality.
Breath Sounds | Blake Gregory | FALL 2016
A newly minted physician realizes that an early morning page can be an invitation to participate in another person’s story.
The Bright Speck | Dixon Yang | SPRING 2016
What happens when the only doctor a patient trusts is a medical student?
Broken | Ramya Sampath | SPRING 2021
Familiar rituals—coffee brewed and enjoyed every day—allow a father to retain his dignity at the end of his life.
Broken Silence | Jonathan Davidow | FALL 2020
Follow-up calls to COVID-19 patients in recovery generate questions, both philosophical and clinical, for a physician in training.
Bruised Apples | Jack Coulehan | SPRING 2018
What becomes clear when a physician grapples with the death of his longtime friend and sometime patient.
Bubbles and Poppies | Sonya Huber | SPRING 2021
Perspectives on last year’s pandemic continue to surprise and stun us, especially when the reflection is deeply felt.
C18.9 Malignant Neoplasm of Colon, Unspecified | Rohini Harvey | FALL 2017
A billing code. A diagnosis. An upturned world.
Cancer Diva | Marcia Butler | SPRING 2015
After years of performing, a concert musician takes center stage for reasons other than her skill.
Can the Subaltern Mourn? A Hysterectomy Narrative | Nicole Wilson | SPRING 2022
In the same hospital where she birthed her first child, a woman reflects on a life-changing surgery.
Capturing Life | Amelia Maiga | SPRING 2022
What does it take to bring someone back to the world? A trauma surgeon puts together a heartrending document on the difficulties of doing it.
Caretaker | Laura Hinton | FALL 2013
A woman grapples with a new role in her life, which challenges everything that came before it.
Carlie’s Crack Pipe | Ariel Scott | FALL 2019
Can a patient’s own shame get in the way of getting care?
Changeling and the Baroness | Kaja Weeks | FALL 2016
An experience from the past reminds a practitioner of her journey towards acceptance and compassion.
Charting | Deborah Meltvedt | FALL 2023
There is no blueprint for how to get through to others, but this story about generations—and saving others and oneself—comes close.
Christmas Day | Richard Sidlow | SPRING 2015
On an otherwise quiet day, a moment between a mother and child impacts everyone present
Chemo Chemistry | Mariel Z. Knight | SPRING 2016
Not exactly love at first sight: A leukemia patient falls for her oncologist.
Clinical Flashback | Osman Bhatty | FALL 2014
When should a doctor listen to a patient? Read and decide for yourself.
Come Back to Me | Jen Sammons | FALL 2022
Songs of the heart: A mother and child struggle to reach each other across an invisible abyss.
Coming Out of the Medical Closet | Angelica Recierdo | SPRING 2014
Courage is needed to face the unpredictable events that occur at a hospital.
Coming to Terms: A Metagnosis | Jeanne McArdle | FALL 2022
At a conference on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic connective tissue disorder, an attendee finds ways to accept and move forward.
Communion | Richard Chisolm | SPRING 2013
A television producer spends his 50th birthday in an unexpected setting.
Connecting Doors | Catherine Klatzer | FALL 2022
A woman with DID finds companionship in an unpredictable way, unlocking greater questions surrounding mental health stigmas.
Constellations | Julia Sevy | SPRING 2015
If stars have a meaning, do tumors have a meaning too?
Contents Have Shifted | Kristin Graziano | SPRING 2024
Navigating long-distance care for a parent helps a clinician come to terms with the past and the present.
COVID: Theme and Escalations | Kasia Nikhamina | FALL 2022
Complicated healthcare decisions, uncertainty, hope, and fear, each leave their mark on a daughter’s reflection.
Cradle and All | Laura English | FALL 2019
Who makes the judgement call? Managing mania—and a newborn baby—feels insurmountable, even with well-intentioned caregivers nearby.
Cric | C. Alessandra Colaianni | SPRING 2022
A head and neck surgeon pens a reflection on the tension between the esoteric expertise of her position and the magical mundanity of her own life.
Cura Personalis | Lauren Boehm | SPRING 2013
Do you drink?
D/D | Maureen Hirthler | FALL 2014
A mother and a doctor daughter. A deathbed. Can Charles Barkley bring them together?
Daddy | Jennifer Abcug | SPRING 2019
Role reversal: A daughter learns about kidney dialysis and a new way to take care of her father.
Dandelions | Julia Michie Bruckner | SPRING 2024
Children and gardens grow at their own pace, teaching close observers the poetry of the wild earth.
Day 1 of Dying | Karen Dukess | FALL 2016
When a countdown begins, the days bring forth an infinite number of memories.
The Day I Lost an Eye | Barbara Adair | FALL 2022
After a disabling loss in a car crash in a remote area of KwaZulu Natal, a writer envisions how to see herself again in the world.
Death of an Old Farmer | M. Sophia Newman | FALL 2014
In a remote village in Ghana, a pre-med student struggles with the desire to "do no harm."
Delusional Parasitosis, Delusional Me | Katie Taylor | SPRING 2022
Contemplating her own delusions helps this doctor deal with a complex problem her homeless patients also experience.
Dextrocardia | Gregory Fagan | FALL 2012
A heart condition leads to a change of heart about how to engage with illness.
Diabetes Diary | Jonathan Garfinkel | SPRING 2019
Reflections on the experience of diabetes and the promises — and the limits — of technology.
Disclosure Day | Kathryn Cantrell | SPRING 2015
Every patient is a story, awaiting to be read.
Disconnected Spaces | Liza Allen | SPRING 2023
Intergenerational trauma expresses itself after a mother’s death.
Doors, Walls, Barriers, and How We Break Them Down | Jake Drobner | FALL 2017
Adult Emergency Services: A Bellevue hospital volunteer recounts a night on the ward that counted.
Double Black Doors | Trev Morgavi | FALL 2016
A rotation in psychiatry glimpses the reality of influencing patients.
Dr. Ortega and the Fajita Man | Richard B. Weinberg | FALL 2023
A clever switch in menu options solves a recurrent—and costly—bad habit, thanks to a take-charge clinician.
The Dragonslayer | Andrea Hansell | SPRING 2015
Personal and collective narratives coincide in this account of a husband's illness and death during the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing.
Dust | Mary Pan | SPRING 2016
Touch, patience, camaraderie: A physician learns the value of some vanishing skills in medicinein a rural Kenyan hospital.
Dying at Home | Jen Baker-Porazinski | SPRING 2024
Attending a longtime patient with patience and fortitude makes a difference in an empathetic practice.
Edentulism | Justin Millan | SPRING 2019
After working a code that fails: Twenty, thirty, forty-five minutes to transform the scene before the family arrives.
Eight Grown Children | Ann Casapini | SPRING 2015
If the truth hurts, do you still have to tell it?
Eight Months After A Suicide Attempt | Andrea Rosenhaft | SPRING 2015
The struggle to stay alive, like a splinter that eludes the tweezers
Emergency Care and Loss | Kristy Byrd | FALL 2012
A long night in the ER brings a pregnant patient into contact with a cast of characters.
Everything | Simone Blaser | SPRING 2021
Clinicians are often asked to ‘do everything’ by patients and families; last year, the words echoed over the phone, via texts, through glass partitions—everywhere, really—in hospitals and ICUs.
Exit Wounds: A Post-Mortem of a Med School Relationship | Ben Teasdale | SPRING 2021
Navigating an unraveling romance heightens a student’s coming-of-age journey into medicine.
Eyes of Sea and Earth | Rachel Cicoria | SPRING 2023
A family rebuilds after an attempted suicide.
Extended Bodies | Alli Morgan | FALL 2015
A patient-guided journey through the body's gains and losses during a prolonged illness.
The Favorite | Amy Tubay | SPRING 2021
Why do certain patients make a lasting impression, while others are forgotten? One physician recalls a memorable one with affection.
Fifteen Rocks | Alexandra Godfrey | SPRING 2018
Looking deeply in the moment, a mother reflects on love and loss at work and at home.
Fighting to Heal | Olaf Kroneman | FALL 2017
A shared love of boxing brings a doctor and his patient to a greater understanding of illness and race.
Finding the Words | Kerry Malawista | FALL 2016
Visits to a therapist to cope with a physical diagnosis lead to healing of a different sort.
First Call | Nancy Lewis | SPRING 2024
Tale of the transplant: How a day unspools while waiting for a life-changing surgery.
First Will and Testament | Anna Stacy | FALL 2021
In the face of the pandemic, a reflective look at one's own mortality: A young and refreshing assessment of what we are and what we have at the end of the day.
Fluid | Elisabeth Hedrick Moser | SPRING 2018
Suddenly, the body is under attack and the lungs are at risk, and a whole new reality emerges. This is how one woman came swimming back.
Flying Into Jerusalem | Katherine Macfarlane | SPRING 2015
In pursuit of fertility, a law professor discovers there is no medical compass to guide her.
Fortitude and Patience | Jane Zhao | SPRING 2014
A sprained ankle leads to this meditation on walking, the fragility of the body, and the memory of a grandmother.
The Fragile Line | Jennifer Lycette | FALL 2021
Dreams and reality are juxtaposed in this essay exploring the painful reality of loss and love.
Fucking Headache | Kenneth Weinberg | FALL 2023
Assumptions can lead us in the wrong direction if we aren’t careful. A clinician discovers that a perceived language barrier leads to a missed diagnosis.
Ganpati's Garden | Nikhil Wadhwani | SPRING 2013
The nature of change is reflected in so many ways generation by generation, season by season.
Genealogy | Holly Schechter | FALL 2014
Of babies and Bubbies: When a new generation is on the horizon, we recall the past.
Gifts in a 24-hour Period | Alma Robles | FALL 2013
When families and cultures collide: a memoir about birthday presents, CT scans and chocolate.
Giving Up The Fight | Rebecca Stanfel | SPRING 2023
Progressive disease isn’t about fighting a battle; it’s about living fearlessly.
The Gold Standard | Logan Shannon | FALL 2019
Thinking about pain is different than experiencing it. A loving (and lovable) liver donor examines and dialogues with pain’s mysterious sources.
Graduations | Nina Collins | FALL 2012
A daughter thinks about a secret her mother kept from her many years ago.
Gross Anatomy | Chrissie DyBuncio | FALL 2022
Amid the dissection of Donor #6, a medical student contemplates what it means to be human, finding connection between living bodies and the dead.
Grounded | Deborah Burghardt | FALL 2020
A compelling essay that highlights the relationship between high-heeled shoes and freedom.
The Gypsy | Alyse Keller | SPRING 2019
Crazy things happen: An amusing tale involving MS, drinks, daughters, a mom—and happy (sort of) accidents.
Hallelujah | Suzanne Ohlmann | SPRING 2019
Laughter, song, and poop jokes: a woman and her mother-in-law share joy during a time of sickness
The Halo | Xi Chen | FALL 2021
Becoming a seasoned doctor involves close observation that may take one on a deep dive into the definition of life.
Hanging Out with the Boys at General Hospital | Greg Stidham | FALL 2017
A motley crew of three old men share a hospital room and jolly times.
Here and Now, There and Then | Caroline Grobler-Tanner | FALL 2020
Working with a local aid organization, the writer explores the true meaning of ‘aid’ both during COVID-19 and earlier international disasters.
Hey Hey Hey Hey | Steve Street | SPRING 2014
A writer prepares to live in the face of death.
Holding My Breath | Diane Forman | SPRING 2020
Knowing when to intercede isn’t an easy negotiation. One mother reflects on her interior confusion and suffering when her daughter develops a severe eating disorder.
Hold You Closer, Tiny Dancer | Eileen Vorbach Collins | SPRING 2021
A psychiatric nurse reflects on her mother’s and her daughter’s experiences with mental illness.
How Quickly Do We Forget? | Zohar Lederman and Nicole Marcomini | SPRING 2013
Two doctors, two stories, one patient—many interpretations.
How to Visit the Personal Care Home | Ann Green | SPRING 2024
Game plans provide a structure for spending a day with a parent who may not remember if you’re a sibling or an offspring but knows she likes dogs and donuts.
ICU | Rob McClure Smith | FALL 2019
In crisis, our vision often hides the most important things.
The ICU and You | Ann Etta Green | FALL 2013
Calls to return to the hospital, conflicting calls by doctors—confusion sometimes reigns, causing chaos.
ICU Man | Sarah Garvey | SPRING 2016
Lessons learned when the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit becomes a reflection of a bigger picture to see.
I Can’t Remember His Name | Sarah Gundle | SPRING 2023
A young psychiatrist learns that some suffering is too strong to be reached.
The Identification | Mari Georgeson | FALL 2015
A brief encounter leaves a lasting impression and raises questions for a Public Health professional.
I'm Too Young To Be Here | Nadia Hannan | SPRING 2017
The aftershocks of a youthful cancer force a woman to face aging differently.
Incompatible With Life | Sadaf Qureshi | FALL 2013
To live or to die? A med student discovers there is harmony, rather than a disparity, between the two.
Inside the Box | John Wang | FALL 2023
Will speaking in Mandarin break the lonely barriers constructed by a patient’s childhood trauma? A psychiatry resident wonders whether language will be enough to create a connection.
The Insulin Unit 1954: A Memoir | Eileen Valinoti | FALL 2019
Memories of a young nurse in training at a treatment center using insulin coma therapy to treat patients with mental illness in the ’50s.
Into the Arms of Strangers | Sara Lukinson | FALL 2017
A community welcomes family members into the world of illness.
Invisible Beast: COVID in the Psychiatric ED | Ayala Danzig | FALL 2020
There was no gameplan to answer questions arising during the pandemic. One clinician considers what it took—creativity, brain power and an empathetic point of view—to find answers.
Invisible Wounds | Yona Feit | SPRING 2024
Witnessing a grandmother’s slow by steady memory loss allows a granddaughter to hold on to what remains.
It's in Your Head: An Incidental Finding | Peggy Moss | FALL 2022
Life or death? A woman grapples with the uncertainty of a growth in her head.
Joanna | Sarah Gundle | SPRING 2023
Guiding them through infertility treatment, a psychiatrist accompanies a couple through loss and love.
John in the Rain | Gary Hunter | FALL 2020
Deep connections shift and warp, but never go away.
Journey Through the Forest | Lawrence Hergott | FALL 2012
A doctor muses about becoming a physician and the importance of courage in the face of every day care.
The Judge Shrank My Penis | Lisa Jacobs | SPRING 2020
What questions will bring out the truth when you’re trying to decide whether a patient is delusional?
June 13, 1995 | Maureen Robins | FALL 2022
A mother recounts the day she got the call about a possible liver for her daughter.
Karma, Love, Air | Ariel Scott | SPRING 2020
Waking up to a crisis: A medical student finds both fear and hope in the days of pandemic.
The Kindness of Strangers | Himali McInnes | FALL 2018
On kindness, aging and catching the perfect breath
Lamentations | Diana Cejas | FALL 2018
Freedom from suffering comes in strange and satisfying ways.
Landmines | Evelyn Potochny | SPRING 2024
As a medical officer in the United States Navy, you face the possibility of injuries and death—literally and emotionally.
Last Call | Joseph Zarconi | FALL 2023
Make a toast to crossing a professional boundary: having a Scotch with a patient and Johnnie Walker Blue.
Last Dance | Ellen LaPointe | FALL 2014
Attending to a parent in the last years of her life is an emotional choreography of sorts.
Learning to be Real | Shanda McManus | FALL 2019
When taking on a new role, we can be unsure of how we live up to the expectations we’ve learned from others. It’s twice as hard when you’re thrown into two new roles at the same time.
Learning to Walk | Mason Vierra | FALL 2021
Lessons learned in medical school: Sometimes the best medicine is no medicine at all.
Legacy | Greg Mahr | SPRING 2021
Fathers and sons: A jaded psychiatrist receives a late-in-life lesson about emotional connection.
Lessons From My Mother | Victoria Millard | FALL 2019
A heartfelt reminder that even in times of grief and loss there is the possibility for laughter to connect us.
Like a God Chained to a Colossal Rock | Laurie Kutchins | FALL 2019
Falling into a river–a meditation on cancer and life.
The Light Others Carry | Nancy Huggett | SPRING 2023
In the absence of hope, the support of others brings peace.
The Lilac House | Sarah Gurley-Green | FALL 2012
The memory of a childhood sanctuary provides comfort through the trial of cancer.
Listening to Lyme | Merissa Nathan Gerson | FALL 2018
A deeply personal look at a complex and complicated illness.
Looking Through the Album | Martha Nance | FALL 2018
Like family members, patients fill the picture books of our souls.
Losing Sharon | Sarah Gundle | SPRING 2023
At times, the doctor’s relationship with a patient becomes complex.
Love, Frank | Cheryl Bailey | FALL 2022
Relationships develop over time and occasionally reveal more about ourselves than just our roles as providers and patients.