Title: InVerse Medicine Author: Upreet Dhaliwal Genre: Non-Fiction [Poetry] Book Blurb: The poems contained in this volume are conversations we could easily overlook in our rush to provide care. Through poetry, I explore what it really means to be sick, and what it means to be a provider, or a caregiver. These poems are for people who have ever been unwell, and for those who have never been sick; for people who love poetry, and for those who wonder and doubt; for people who think the healthcare system is fatally flawed, and for those who serve in the system with dedication and love. The book is for learners of the healthcare professions, just as much as it is for teachers and practitioners. These poems are for you... Excerpt
Triage
Breathe...
Please breathe
I need you to pull in as much oxygen as you can
until we get a ventilator
freed
from its current tenancy.
You’re a grandfather, you told me.
You’re not afraid, you said.
But your words disappeared
under an oxygen mask
and, even through my double gloves,
I felt your fingers tighten around mine.
Breathe, I whisper,
and my entreaty
fogs up
impervious PPE glasses.
Does he hear me?
Or are my pleas lost in the mists
of an oxygen-starved cerebrum?
Breathe! I command,
and your fingers twitch in mine,
and I hope
that when it does become available
you won’t need the ventilator
any more
because...
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Print Version available from: Pothi, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
What’s your favorite way to combat stress?
Write. Watch a rom-com. Crochet. I’m listing three ‘favorites’ because it’s tough to pick one without feeling I’m cheating on the other two. If I were to rate them, they’d all have exactly the same score.
Why is your featured book a stress busting read?
It was stress-busting for me to write it. The book is about issues that troubled me, personally, or that I wondered about when I heard of other people’s stories. Converting these human experiences into verse made me feel like I was bringing the issues from a dark place into the light and that gave me a measure of relief. These poems come from varied perspectives and could provide solace to others who have been there but haven’t found their own voices.
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Open internationally
Runs May 1 – 31, 2021.
Drawing will be held on June 1, 2021.
Author Biography:
Upreet Dhaliwal trained as an ophthalmologist, and has spent the happiest years of her life as a medical teacher and an eye surgeon. Rediscovering the humanities, especially poetry, and introducing them into health professions education has added a valuable dimension to her understanding of illness and health. She also writes contemporary, humorous romance as Reet Singh.
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