The days are starting to get shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and I’ve been taking deep breaths every time I step outside.

Something about the way the air smells right now makes me so happy! 

When I was a child, spring was my favourite time of the year. It was warming up outside, my birthday was around the corner, and summer break was getting close.

Now, as adult, I find spring to be a giant mess, and I’m less excited about birthdays and summer school break, which doesn’t always mean relaxation as a parent (LOL)

But fall….AH!

Halloween, candy, cozy sweaters, evenings reading by a fire, bonfires, harvest, and falling leaves. (and not lying, having the kids back in school is also pretty sweet:)

I love everything about it! (See: internet picture below for clarification 😆)

This year, I have made plans to take a few days off to really enjoy the time. And also to write more. As part of my desire to write and improve my craft, I’ve started a course to learn more about NBM- Narrative Based Medicine. 

For anyone who is curious, NBM is a practice of medicine very much like mainstream medicine, but with a focus on bringing stories into our daily interactions in health care. Listening to stories of illness demands courage and empathy, which is no easy task. While naming the concept may be new to me, I truly believe this is how all medicine should be practiced, and have done my best to live this everyday I go to work.

How else can we understand each other?

We must be able to have conversations where we tell our stories, but also know that someone is listening actively to our words. Just like with reading a book, the writer may create the story, but without a reader, there is no one to interpret them.

As I learn more about NBM, I realize I have been doing this all of my life in some way or another, long before I began my medical training. I have always been fascinated by stories, whether I was working retail or stacking boxes in a warehouse, or just spending time driving my grandparents nuts asking about the “olden days”.

I just never realized how closely linked my desire to read and write is linked to the art of medicine. In a way, my entire life makes a little more sense now. It always struck my as a little strange I did so well in math and sciences in school, but loved English as much as I did. 

Now, I understand.

We are all storytellers in some way, shape or form. Some people naturally gravitate toward creation, but everyone creates narrative as we live our lives, regardless of whether or not you have ever considered yourself a storyteller.

In my clinical practice, I hear stories everyday. There are times where I feel much of what I do is detective work, but I’m less Sherlock Holmes than someone who simply enjoys story. Listening to others and doing my best to interpret the words (stories) they tell me means I get to travel with them to the best ending (health, if possible) we can find together. 

My latest release, Passages, explores my experience with NBM and storytelling in general. (You can follow the link if you are curious)

https://books2read.com/Passageshmgooden

As a writer, and a family physician, I have a chance to use my love of words to make the world a little brighter every day.

Isn’t that a nice thought going into the weekend?