Thursday, March 26, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Engage the new anthology, "Where It Hurts" through readings and moderated discussion with editor Donna Bulseco and other contributors!
For our inaugural spring seminar session we will be joined by Donna Bulseco to discuss the new collection, Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine (2026). As part of a moderated discussion, Donna will share insights about the process of bringing these pieces from the digital space into physical print.
She will also present contributors who will read work from this debut anthology and engage in dialogue about the importance of reflective writing practices, representation of the voices in healthcare, and the opportunities present in engaging with the experiences of others through literature. Clinician Contributors to the anthology who will be reading in-person at the event include: Bruce Campbell, Rachel Kowalsky, Trisha Paul, Angelica Recierdo, Priscilla Mainardi and Eve Makoff.
Clinicians face daily trials and triumphs in providing health care in their communities. Where It Hurts offers a glimpse into the daily realities of those charged with taking care of us at our most vulnerable. In raw and revealing essays, stories, and poems, from doctors, nurses, EMTs, therapists, and more, we hear what it’s like to deal with difficult patients, life-changing diagnoses, private doubts, painful failures, and the victories that keep them going. Join us for a lively program of readings as we talk about the rewards of storytelling and how the discipline of narrative medicine supports enhanced empathy in the clinical encounter.
Praise from the book has come from both the literary and medical worlds:
"I'll not soon forget the voices of these dedicated physicians, nurses, teachers, and technicians who treat their patients with humanity, compassion, and humility. I was riveted and moved by this collection."—Wally Lamb, #1 New York Times-bestselling author
"A powerful anthology with its origins in caregiving, and the pain and suffering that invokes it. The humanity of these poems, stories, and essays makes for compelling reading, an opportunity for spiritual enlargement, and a reminder of why medicine is so much more than service."—Thomas McGuane, author of A Wooded Shore and The Longest Silence
"Where It Hurts cuts to the core of what it means to be a clinician today."—Sneha Mantri, MD, (M.S. '11) director of medical humanities at Duke University School of Medicine
Make sure to clarify if you plan to attend
OPTION A: 6pm talk only
OPTION B: 6pm talk AND 7:30pm Dinner
*Dinner service will be available following the seminar meeting from 7:30-8:30pm. Dinner is $30 per person ($20 for Columbia students) and payable by credit card in advance or on the day of the event (cash is not accepted).
Speaker: Donna Bulseco, (M.S '14), editor of Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine (2026) and Editor-in-Chief of Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine.
Moderator: Mario de la Cruz, (M.S.'12), Lecturer; School of Professional Studies and Associate Director, CUIMC Division of Narrative Medicine
