NON-FICTION
INTIMA SPRING-SUMMER 2026
Click on the title of the essay to read
Against the Arrow | Kenneth Iserson
Living in a body in flux demands flexibility, self-reflection and physical adjustments measured in the numbers on a valve.
Arrival | Jonas Attilus
What begins as a worrisome discussion with an elder becomes an upbeat conversation with a positive outcome for doctor and patient.
The Echo of Quiet Things | Mary Monoky
In moments of health emergencies, quotidian sounds keep our focus steady.
Immunologist, Unclassified | Alexandra van der Staal
What is it like when you know too much but also too little? This meditation on the lived reality of having an undifferentiated autoimmune condition by a clinician who is an expert holds a highly relatable story.
It's Likely Nothing | Ariel Bugosh Boswell
“Don’t we all want certainty? Don’t we all want black-and-white answers in a shifting gray world studded with stars and streaks of rainbow?” A family medicine nurse amusingly muses about handling a wait-and-see condition.
Maybe It's Beautiful | Alexis Rehrmann
Loss has many voices, and speaking those stories and hearing them is “how we move toward healing,” says the author.
Mr. Arable's Ax | Jennifer DeCoste
A formative lesson from a classic children’s book holds an important resonance, in different ways and at different times, in a pediatrician/medical educator’s life.
My Two Walks | Jane McCauley
The writer, who experienced a stroke after a 10-day hike in the Himalayas, recounts in a wry and honest way how disconcerting it can be to have others seemingly deny that anything has changed.
One in 100,000 Children | David Sleeth-Keppler
This reflection on how probabilities and results don’t always align offers a powerful perspective on how uncertainty is handled and communicated in the clinical encounter.
Post Mortem | Elizabeth Warner
Acknowledging failure is done in morbidity and mortality conferences as well as in the lonely, solitary drives home. Years later, a surgeon wonders why.
The Potato Salad Recipe Binder | Dixie L. King
Caregiving takes its toll. “They call it ‘compassion fatigue,’ this inability to feel or display human kindness toward even those we love most, because the internal well has run dry,” writes the author. Finding the ingredients to feed the soul takes patience and a sense of humor.
Pronounce | Rose Berman
It’s certainly not like learning French! But learning how to pronounce the patient and mastering the nuances of the language to use for it holds the secret to getting this rite of passage right.
Re: Interesting Case | Sarah Cady
Pat phrases make it easy to handle ambivalent moments in the day-to-day treatment of mental health. But stock phrases also obscure rather than resolve what makes us unsure of how to think about a patient. Describing the inclination to fall back on them, as this sensitive essay does, will make you rethink your use of them.
She'll Be Right, Mate | Dennis Freire
Sometimes a passing stranger holds insights and comfort in a moment when treatment feels disorienting.
The Stretcher | Hassan Bencheqroun
“He’s fine” sounds different when the “he” is your father. So says a critical care doctor in this moving essay about how your worldview changes and adjusts when healthcare becomes deeply personal.
Tablespoons of Air | Katherine Toler
This one will take your breath away: witnessing the tenacity of the cardiothoracic ICU nurse who lived it during a fearful passage in time for all of us.
Through the Valley | Caiwei
When the Comfort Measures Only sign posts and silence feels like a prayer, a doctor observes with quiet respect and measured care.