NON-FICTION

INTIMA FALL-WINTER 2026-27

Click on the title of the essay to read

About Bloody Time | Sophia Kartsonis

Years of bloodwork and endless tests have brought a couple even closer together. How the duo keep love and family and doses of Greek olive oil in play throughout it all.

Animal, Animal | Emily McNally

Who can say what will help you get through a difficult diagnosis? A woman undergoing painful procedures finds solace tending to an ornery horse named Clancy, who suffers from navicular syndrome.

The Armadillo's Foxtrot | Lorraine Comanor

Imagine Dancing with the Stars when you’re in a body cast and in step with a dance teacher while your mother watches your progress across the floor. It may not be pretty but it’s pretty funny.

Fong Sup (風濕)| Yue-Ting Lau

Being able to speak the same language allows a rheumatologist to prescribe the correct medicine to “quiet years of pain.”

Grace | Andrzej Koczapski

Meet Grace, an amiable patient who goes along with hospital staff orders—until asked to cut her hair. Here’s how a doctor monitors the heated debates and resolves the ruckus ensuing when she refuses.

Helios | Sarah Piper

“Walking the block at sunset” becomes a ritual for a physician who as a patient sees the world in a different light.

I See You | Sunny Dizon

Chance encounters with a person glimpsed caring for a loved one feel fated for a clinician knowing the outcome.

Keep Your Eye on the Wall | Suzanne Travis

It’s a blistering hot day in Southern California and life feels precarious. A sense of humor, a beloved dog and a reminder of how to stay focused post-cancer-surgery provides calm in the chaos for an oncology nurse.

The Long Good-Bye | Susan A. Martin

For a psychologist, finding the right memory care home for her mother takes time, as well as the willingness to try, try again.

No Trading Allowed | Angela Rossetti

If you could trade places with someone undergoing surgery, would you? It’s what many wish they could do, while experiencing the emotional upheaval alongside a loved one. An inspiring essay about resilience.

Nothing | Damina Khaira

A medical anthropolgist considers how Western healing methods line up next to culturally specific ones in a Merican longhouse in Malaysia.

The Word for Strawberry | Natasha Kulviwat

At the hospital, translators are tasked with a lot of responsibility. When a big sister is called upon to be the go-between for her little sister, a different dynamic occurs.