Recent Updates
Not a Review. Rather, a Dispatch from the Front. "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World" by Ian McGilchrist, MD
On average I read eight to ten books a month, fiction and non-fiction, for a couple hours at the end of my day in bed. Since July, after landing the book deal with W.W. Norton, I’ve also been reading one book—The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Ian McGilchrist, MD, a British psychiatrist and philosopher—for a couple hours most mornings at the desk after a few cups of coffee.
How many pages do I read in two hours? About ten. The material is so dense, I have to take notes to stay focused. (More on that in a few paragraphs.) I haven’t worked this hard since medical school!
Harvest Lust
Harvest lust—what is it? You know how it is when you go to an orchard to pick your own apples. The trees are heavy with fruit and the air smells sooo sweet from the apples and you take a bite of one and it’s delicious and you lose your mind and pick waaaayyy more than you intended. That’s u-pick lust. Harvest lust is u-pick lust on steroids.
Every fall, harvest lust grabs me because
Beyond Thrilled to Announce I Have a Book Deal with W. W. Norton
I have a book deal! With W.W. Norton! For an academic book!
That’s amazing all by itself given I’m a rural shrink toiling in the back forty of upstate New York untethered from academia. But here’s what totally blows my mind.
Look Out! I'm a National Award Winner!
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists: Organization for writers of serial essay, including columnists and bloggers, in any medium awarded me a third place in the General Interest: Online category of their 2022 contest. I am so delighted!
When I submitted two 2021 posts from this blog, I wasn’t fully aware of the level of competition.
How to Live with Imposter Syndrome
According to Google, Imposter Syndrome is “loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high achieving people who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments.” Is this you? Me too. The wordsmith who coined the term probably did so ironically. Though, as a shrink, I would include the syndrome as a legitimate diagnosis in the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It’s real, with real consequences.
Slayer of Dragons
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Why not perpetrate some shameless self-promotion? My book Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life will make you aware of the view from my side side of the couch. Spoiler Alert—the following YouTube video, a seven minute speech which I gave at my local Toastmaster’s club, is based on one chapter from the book.
Twice is Enough
The door from the garage into the house was locked. We hadn’t had a key to this door for years. Don’t ask. Which is why we never turned the little thingie on the inside knob to the locked position. How had that happened? I shook the doorknob again. No luck.
I looked at Son, aged nine, beside me.
Confessions of a Perfectionist in Recovery
My mother, a perfectionist, believes perfection is excellence. And—this is important—if you’re not suffering, you’re slacking. For my growing up and training years, I bought that. But aging and real life—taking care of patients, writing, cooking, parenting—have taught me to pursue excellence instead.
What I Learned from Giving my Ice Breaker Speech to my Local Toastmasters Club
Finally, after practicing for days giving my speech from memory—before my friend Joan; between clients; while on hold as my tech genius figured out what was wrong with my office computer; at home cooking dinner and after, doing the dishes; as I applied lipstick in the rearview mirror, and drove to the public library where the Toastmasters meeting was happening—finally, I was standing before the camera (it was a hybrid meeting) and my fellow Toastmasters, ready (as I’d ever be) to give my speech.