Nonfiction – Page 10 – PLEASE SEE ME

A Pixelated Death—Paul Rousseau

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 A Pixelated Death by Paul Rousseau To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. —Mary Oliver, In Blackwater Woods he’s in the intensive care unit scraping along the edge of life. COVID-19 the diagnosis. ...

Birthing During A Pandemic—Andrea Eisenberg

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 Birthing During a Pandemic by Andrea Eisenberg weat fell from her forehead and fear spilled from her eyes. Her gaze darted from me to her husband to the nurse. Her arms flailed like snakes on Medusa’s head. Her legs pushed me away, pushing her up in the bed, as if she could push away her pain…at least, that is what she hoped for. Her husband was crying ...

On Hospital Waiting Rooms–Jillian Luft

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 On Hospital Waiting Rooms by Jillian Luft ll hospital waiting rooms are the same. Whether in emergency rooms, intensive care units, or those expansive areas near the front desk, each impersonal space is identical to the next. There are the cubed-shaped chairs carefully arranged around the sad TV set. The ugliest crayons in the box color the scratchy chair cushions, the pedestrian artwork, the dingy walls. ...

Five Ways My Nervous Breakdown Prepared Me—Amy Goldmacher

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 Five Ways My Nervous Breakdown Prepared Me for the Pandemic by Amy Goldmacher ecently, I had a breakdown. It crashed over me and dragged me out to a deep, violent sea. I couldn’t eat. Food turned to dust in my mouth. I couldn’t sleep; I woke throughout the night with heart pounding, drenched in sweat, teeth clenched. My mouth was dry, my bowels liquid, my hair ...

An Affair of the Heart—Joseph K. DeRosa

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 21st, 2020 July 21st, 2020 An Affair of the Heart by Joseph K. DeRosa t happened in the City of Light, the City of Love—Paris. I was invited to give a talk on the third day of a three-day technical conference. On Wednesday, I acted out a dress rehearsal of my Friday talk. Left my apartment with a backpack full of handouts, my computer, snacks, jacket, umbrella, Metro map, and everything else ...

Exhaustion–Brenda Arthur

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 21st, 2020 Exhaustion by Brenda Arthur y father was diagnosed with COVID-19 sometime in March, a few days before New Jersey pulled me, and all third-year medical students, from the hospitals. He is a physician in a pediatric emergency department in the Bronx, so I was not surprised when I heard the news that he had a fever. The frantic calls from my mother began a few days after ...

Fallen Hero—Hilton Koppe

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 Fallen Hero by Hilton Koppe onday, Jan 21 5.10 a.m.: He commences his workday burnout prevention ritual. Stretching. Aerobic exercise. Resistance exercise. Stretching. Qigong. Mindfulness meditation. Reflective writing. 8.25 a.m.: He rides his bicycle to the medical centre where he has worked as a family doctor for the last 31 years. It is his first day back at work after his annual family summer break at the Brooms ...

Being Well Having Cancer—Raymond Wlodkowski

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 Being Well Having Cancer by Raymond Wlodkowski lthough it’s been six years since my initial diagnosis, I often forget I have cancer. However, I’m a psychologist, and recognizing my own rationalizations is a healthy sensibility to keep in mind. Cancer, the word, I often see people blink when it comes up, no matter who says it. I seldom say, “I have cancer.” It’s much easier to say, “I ...

An Ambulance Across the River Styx—Kasia Kalinowska

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 An Ambulance Across the River Styx by Kasia Kalinowska n March, New York City’s soundscape dramatically shifted. Someone had dragged the usual levels of sidewalk arguments, street vendor sales pitches, and the buzz of hundreds of rubber tires down to a hum, remastering the track with a looping blare of sirens. I noticed it for the first time on a walk. I hadn’t been outside for over ...

Thank My Lucky Scars by Rachel Stone

Nonfiction Issue #5: Heroes July 28th, 2020 July 28th, 2020 Thank My Lucky Scars by Rachel Stone or hours, we flung ourselves off the side of the fishing boat into the steeped-tea pond, laughing too hard to form words. The eldest screamed. The fish were biting his toes! The boat pitched like fresh walleye, skinned knees barrel-rolling to safety with an aluminum thunk, alto shrieks curdling the July sky. My life jacket snagged on the tin frame, leaving me ...