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?