We all have a story to share. One of mine, purely fiction, stemmed from a conversation with a colleague who tested positive on a work screening for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). That evening, her husband shook her hand in lieu of a goodnight kiss. The handshake joke continued until she received her corrected, decidedly negative, results…

Author Duston Spear’s debut novel, Birdgirl, launched in mid-August of 2026. She had garnered advanced five-star reviews and reserved bookstores for her launch party and readings. The book is situated, in part, in the 1970s art culture scene in SoHo, New York, the place and time Duston’s career as a visual artist was established…

Last month, I shared news of my scheduled reverse shoulder replacement surgery. The damage in my right (dominant) shoulder joint had driven me to multiple courses of physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, and an experimental procedure. I coped with daily pain, but my limitations overwhelmed me…

My friend Stewart retired from his corporate attorney job after almost 40 years, eager to fill his leisure with travel, golf, and his lifelong love of skiing. Schussing down the mountain one day in the crisp cool air, he was hit from behind by a snowboarder who gave little more than a backward glance. Stewart, 66, suffered a fractured shoulder along with bumps, bruises, and a concussion…

We all have one friend like Patrice who is prone to accidents. A misstep causes a fractured hip and a torn shoulder. Weeks of pain-filled rehabilitation follow then her husband dies of sudden cardiac arrest. She discovers, through his private letters, he has carried on with another man for decades…

One of the frequent questions I get as an author is, “How did you get started?” My first publication appeared in a medical software journal a couple decades ago. It reads dry and boring but gives the software a great review…

Years ago, I flew to Baltimore with my broken leg in a cast, in a wheelchair with the leg extended. My family stood guard around me but an incursion at the gate left me reeling. A woman came barreling up to the agent, in a panic, and smashed my cast with her bag. I saw stars…

I loved helping new families through pregnancy and childbirth as an obstetrical nurse. In addition, the intensity and energy needed for my job, especially in a high-paced unit like labor and delivery, required a level of focus and knowledge that energized me. One of the non-nursing tasks I enjoyed included writing…

I inherited a stack of exquisitely written love letters that my mother had received from her paramour in the South Pacific in WWII. The pages are neat and the care in each swirl of an S or loop of a Y is evidence that love had been injected into every letter…