We’ve found some very special storytellers along the way who have an ongoing interest in exploring the meaning of life through the lens of their condition.
These writers have kindly agreed to share some of their thoughts with us. We consider them as valued authors and are proud to present their very honest and intense work. You can select from the list below to see their individual contributions.
Type 1 Diabetes
Mental Health
Alzheimer’s and Photography
Skin Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
End Stage Liver Disease
- Featured Writers
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Health Through Movement: How Nia Changed My Life
By Jennifer Hicks After 34 years living in my body, I became an expert. That is, an expert in myself. And I discovered, after all that time, that I am not ordinary. I have Bipolar Disorder. But that’s not what makes me different. I am unique because of how I have learned to manage my Bipolar Disorder. Yes, I need medication and psychotherapy, but there’s more to my wellness plan. I use Nia – a fitness practice which not only offers me physical fitness, but also a lifestyle, and now a profession. Looking at me, you’d never know I have Read More…
Tagged Under: bipolar disorder, dance, featured writer, fitness, jenn hicks, mental illness, movement, music, nia, patient story, psychotherapy -
The Portrait: Simple Yet Complex, Obvious Yet Profound Part 1: The Eyes
By Judith Leitner Over a century and a half ago, most folks were unable to create tangible visual links to their past. Many lacked the financial means necessary for creating pictorial inventories of themselves and their ancestors through the pricey art of Portrait Painting. Then, in 1839, Charles Daguerre in France and Henry Fox Talbot in England both announced that they had devised a way to ‘fix an image’, and the art and magic of Photography was born. With its affordable price tag, this clever novelty would enable everyman to express a primal, compelling need: to record, share and Read More…
Tagged Under: Alzheimer, Alzheimer's, art, camera, creative coping, dementia, detachment, featured writer, intimacy, judith leitner, lens, metaphors for illness, photography, portrait -
How Did I Quit Smoking? I Just Stopped!
By Sean McDermott I had quit smoking so many times that I decided not to use that word ever again and now when I hear people say that they have “quit”, I take it lightly and reserve comment. Quitting is something that you fear, something that you approach slowly and have a plan in place to overcome the odds, the mood swings, the cravings. I had no such thing. Let me give you some untypical background. In July of 2007 I arrived at Toronto Western Hospital in an ambulance dying of Liver Disease from Alcoholism. I know this because they Read More…
Tagged Under: AA, addiction, alcohol, alcoholism, change, drinking, featured writer, how i quit smoking, liver disease, liver transplant, organ donor, quitting, rehbilitation, sean mcdermott, sobriety, toronto western hospital, transplant -
Seeing Light And Shadow
By Judith Leitner It all begins with light and shadow: opulent daylight softly slipping through a window and illuminating a lovely face, deep shadows stretching across wide valleys and cavernous crevices, dazzling light glistening on ice or crafting strange forms along sand dunes, elongated shadows within dawn’s emergent light and dusk’s fading glow, dense light within grey fog, mellow open shade on a bright summer day, harsh and calculating flash light in a dark room: these and an infinite array of other expressions of light and shadow are the primary shapers of meaning in a photograph. Indeed, the word ‘photography’ Read More…
Tagged Under: Alzheimer, Alzheimer's, art, camera, creative coping, dementia, detachment, featured writer, intimacy, judith leitner, lens, light, metaphors for illness, photography, power of the arts, shadow, speaker -
Rosa: A Story of Love and Memory
By Judith Leitner July 27, 2012 I’d like to share a story with you, a splendid story. I began crafting this journal years ago, when I was searching for a way to understand my mother Rosa. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and I was coming home from ‘Away’ after a long absence. I remember that moment of insight when I understood, with sparkling clarity, that my camera would be my paper and my eyes would be my pen and Rosa would be my story’s artful hero. I made pictures of Rosa for 10 years. Her story Read More…
Tagged Under: Alzheimer, Alzheimer's, art, camera, creative coping, dementia, detachment, featured writer, intimacy, judith leitner, lens, metaphors for illness, photography, power of the arts