Health Story Type: Brief story

Reclamation

This collection of short stories contains a variety of fictional narratives, some more directly related to healthcare than others, but all worth a read. In her foreword, Roxanne Gay characterizes the anthology as one in which “writers imagine what a culture of health might look like. They imagine the dire consequences for humanity if we don’t start building a true, widely accessible culture of health.” One particular story that directly addresses health themes is a graphic narrative entitled “Reclamation” which tells the story of a Native American teenage boy struggling with absent parents, mental health issues, and self harm. One night he decides to run away from home and he encounters a horse, who he follows back to an old Native American man who is sitting in a field. The man asks him what is wrong and he shares his feelings of being lost and alone. The man shares wisdom of how he connected with his identity and heritage by spending time with horses, and starts teaching the boy how to ride a horse. The connection to the horses reveals a significant tie with the land that was taken from Native Americans, as well as a deep sense of community and freedom. We then see a time jump into the future, when the boy has become an elder advisor sharing wisdom just like the man who changed his whole life path, and quite possibly saved his life. It is an inspiring story touching on various important topics such as adolescent mental health, cultural belonging, the connections between cultural trauma and individual health, and how we can overcome obstacles in the most unexpected ways. This story would fit well into a cultural anthropology class, a mental health class, a class on Native American healthcare, or a graphic health narrative class. Because of its short length, it would work best as an in class reading to then discuss afterward. It could also work in conjunction with a more informational reading on Native American ideology or spirituality, or perhaps another story from a different cultural group on how to cope with mental health issues.

The Phone Call

“The Phone Call” by Melissa Fournier is a short narrative retelling the author’s experience in giving birth to an infant on the edge of viability and, in the face of low odds of survival and extreme neurological impairments, signed a DNR. She recounts her experience as it is compared with others’ experiences of earlier stage abortions, and how public perceptions of varying kinds of difficult parental choices can be laced with bias, even when well-meaning. This would be useful in a class about reproductive rights and abortion. It is not long enough for an entire assignment, but it could be a good example to challenge abortion stereotypes and assumptions include in a lesson on the many nuanced situations in which termination of life occurs.

Another GSW

“Another GSW” by Odeya Kagan is a short personal narrative detailing a young doctor’s encounter with a patient who had extensive injuries from a single bullet wound, and how the experience made her consider the ramifications of gun violence in America. As Kagan looks forward to her medical career, she prioritizes never becoming numb despite the frequency and normalization of gun shot wounds (GSWs). This story could prompt discussion of gun violence as a public health issue and the ways in which gun violence is ingrained into American culture. It could also be used to address the topics of physician burnout or the mental taxation of working in trauma and emergency departments. Hospital residents in particular may be able to relate to the sentiments of the author.

True Stories: Living with HIV

This web page provides the stories of three people with HIV. Each story is unique, but they have all come to embrace their lives with HIV, providing support to those who recently received a diagnosis. Chelsea White now runs an HIV and AIDS adolescent outreach program. Nicholas Snow hosts a radio show that touches many topics, including life with HIV. Josh Robins manages a blog to emphasize that he is still the same person, to reduce the stigma of AIDS, and to connect with others who also have the disease. This 10-minute read could be used to discuss stigmatizing conditions, perhaps to have general audiences reflect on stigma or a starting point for further research into how those diagnosed with HIV can lead the lives they had before the diagnosis.

On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by a Pandemic

Ward describes losing her 33-year old husband in the early days of COVID when transmission wasn't well understood and treatments were non-existent. The essay opens with a loving tribute to his individual attributes, a useful move to personalize the statistics on COVID deaths. She puts her loss in conversation with the plot of a novel she is writing about an enslaved woman who loses family and with protests in response to the murder of George Floyd. The short essay is accompanied by a 14:27 minute audio reading. This essay could be used in a course to prompt discussion about health disparities in COVID and the connection between those and a larger history of systemic racism. It also gives insight into grief and loss, both individual and communal, and the ways in which story is a way of processing and acting upon it.