July 4th Fireworks
[Third place winner in the Storytelling Contest non fiction category.] Have you ever seen fireworks in broad daylight? Often associated as a nocturnal sighting, I was mesmerized to hear them implode above us on July 4th, 2020.
Patient Encounter Note
[Second place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest for non fiction.] S: Subjective. “June” is a 79-year-old woman with a...
At Night, the Wake (After Alice Notley)
[First place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest for poetry.] Even now, the wake I forget the waves or I...
The Barbie Dreamhouse
Young girls are seeing more Barbie dolls on shelves with careers ranging from scientists, future leaders, and astronauts, and imagining...
Mary in Heaven
[First place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest Fiction category.] The experience of dying can vary greatly. Some see a...
This Date in UCSF History: The Politics of History
[Originally published on September 21, 1995.] Among the books that have influenced my thinking are A Handmaid’s Tale and 1984...
From Mistrust to Empowerment: How Historical Medical Racism Drove Black Women Toward Midwifery and Home Births
[First place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest Non Fiction category.] America: a country that brags about its technology and...
Life Challenges, Struggles, and Wins
You thought you’d never survive this. But, darling, a radiant sun awaits to see you rise. You felt as though...
Celebrating Creativity: Synapse Announces Storytelling Contest Winners
From magical realism to urgent calls for justice, from fog-draped skylines to lyrical meditations on the self — this year’s...
Aging and the Carbon Imaginary
Consider aging as three overlapping progressions: the accumulation of risk, aging as deterioration, and aging as renewal. Aging disrupts life/non-life...