“Telling stories, listening to them, being moved by them to act, are at the heart of our efforts to find honour and meaning in our lives and in the lives of others.” Dr Rita Charon, Narrative Medicine Program, Columbia University
Dr Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine: Stories of Illness (2008), is the founding mother of Narrative Medicine and Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.
Praise for her book:
“It is a compelling mix, backed by the unusual authority of a physician who is also a literary scholar. ... Narrative Medicine is practical enough to be beneficial to the clinician, yet sufficiently theoretical to serve as a seminal text in the field. Even master clinicians can gain from the knowledge and skills presented here. Charon has written an inspired and inspiring book; and, in her stories of patients and students, she is a role model for us all.” (The Lancet, Vol 370)
Listen to Dr Rita Charon’s Ted Talk here: