From the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU Langone Health and the Gold Foundation

Doctor-novelist Abraham Verghese unpacks his long-awaited new epic

Abraham Verghese discusses his new novel, The Covenant of Water, and how the book was inspired by both his mother's stories and his medical career. The Covenant of Water was recently announced as the 101st selection of Oprah's Book Club.

Continue reading in the Los Angeles Times

Read an excerpt of the novel

"What to Read" with Abraham Verghese

The War on Cancer

Elaine Schattner, a writer, cancer survivor, and former oncologist, describes the "history of pugilistic language" surrounding cancer, and why it might be time to retire, or at least reframe, those metaphors: "Cancer patients have different styles and ‘philosophies’. What’s hurtful to one may be helpful to another."

Continue reading on Aeon

"I AM NOT A VIRUS": COVID-19, Anti-Asian Hate, and Comics as Counternarratives

The Covid-19 pandemic marked the start of an increase in violence and discrimination against Asian communities. In this article, authors Sathyaraj Venkatesan & Ishani Anwesha Joshi explore how comics by artists of East Asian descent help provide a counternarrative by sharing first-person stories that center Asian voices and experiences.

Continue reading in Journal of Medical Humanities

The big idea: can writing make you healthier?

"The link between stress and illness may be clear, but why is writing so cathartic in the first place? That’s trickier to answer," writes David Robson in this piece exploring the benefits of expressive writing. The author highlights both research and personal experience to show why writing matters to health, in ways that range from clearing our "mental workspace" to seeing a situation from a different perspective.

Continue reading in The Guardian



NYU Langone LitMed Database: New Annotation, The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

In this recent annotation, Jacklyn Duffin writes of The Pull of the Stars: "In the beautifully written prose, [readers] will find evocative portrayals of the impacts of social determinants on the health of women and children—impacts that are exaggerated in times of crisis." 

Continue reading

Gold Foundation Jeffrey Silver Humanism in Healthcare Research Roundup

The latest Research Roundup highlights recent articles that address the impact of a visual arts course on medical student wellbeing, the development of communication skills during Internal Medicine residency, different forms of shared decision-making, and more.

Continue reading

Quick Links for Mental Health Awareness Month:

• The Brain Disorders Debate, Chekhov, and Mental Health Humanities
• Out of the shadows: Physicians share their mental health struggles
• Writing the Asylum
• Why Depressing Art Is Good for You
• Human Flourishing in Unprecedented Times

• Call for Stories on "Taking Care," for a live storytelling event presented by The Nocturnists & Bellevue Literary Review, deadline 5/31/23
• Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award, nomination deadline 6/12/23
• Writing Medicine: A Wellness Intervention for Healthcare Workers (Research Study, no deadline noted)
• The Nocturnists: Post-Roe America (call for audio stories, no deadline noted)

May 19

Resistance: The Sixth Annual Northwestern Bioethics and Medical Humanities Conference (in-person, Chicago, IL)

May 23

Abraham Verghese on The Covenant of Water (in-person, Brooklyn, NY, + livestreamed)

May 30

Death Differently: Screening & Discussion (in-person, NYC)  

June 4

UnLonely Film Festival Launch Event (online)

June 13

Grief Over Patient Loss: a collective debriefing through poetry and prose (online, part of the 2023 GHHS Well-being Workshop Series)

June 15

Reading the Body: Poetry, Dance & Recovery (online)

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