INTIMA FALL 2023 | NON-FICTION
Click on the title of the essay to read
A Dialysis Diary | Kristin Camitta Zimet
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.
An Offering | Susan Hall
Moments when memories arise can be painful but joyful too. A mother considers parenthood’s expectations and let-downs.
Body of Work | Anna Dovre
Anatomy lab, learning to intubate, first death, corpses: This cadaver tale goes deep in its meditation on the nuts and bolts of mortality.
Charting | Deborah Meltvedt
There is no blueprint for how to get through to others, but this story about generations—and saving others and oneself—comes close.
Dr. Ortega and the Fajita Man | Richard B. Weinberg
A clever switch in menu options solves a recurrent—and costly—bad habit, thanks to a take-charge clinician.
Fucking Headache | Kenneth Weinberg
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.
Inside the Box | John Wang
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.
Last Call | Joseph Zarconi
Make a toast to crossing a professional boundary: having a Scotch with a patient and Johnnie Walker Blue.
Mathematical Fixation | Laura Pinto
One plus one equals…? When knowledge and memories don’t add up for the Professor, that simple equation becomes a lifeline for a daughter making sense of her father’s dementia.
On My Way To Work: A Walk Through San Francisco's Tenderloin Neighborhood | Kathryn Taylor
A clinician leads us on a disturbing yet compassionate walk to work.
Please Don't Do Anything Else | Teva Brender
In a hectic San Francisco Emergency Department, a doctor respects the wishes of a patient and his primary care physician.
Poetry Hour | Sarah Gundle
When therapy stalls, poetic license offers an alternative way to look into a troubled soul.
What a Wonderful World | Stefanie Stockhamer
Music creates a clarifying moment for a patient and doctor. Isn’t it time to sing along?