Wealth Is Health
In my last post I explored the surprising finding that middle class and affluent African-Americans lead shorter lives on average than white people with similar incomes. Why talk about Blacks who are at the higher end of the socioeconomic spectrum when impoverished...
Another Kind of Deadly Force
The tragic death of George Floyd and the protests that followed have made me realize how little I know about what it means to be Black in today’s America. I’ve had a comfortable white upbringing and although I’ve had contact with many African-Americans at school and...
Dithering in the Big Apple
Zip code 11355 sits deep inside Queens in the Flushing section. It borders Corona, which is one of the zip codes worst hit by coronavirus. 93% of the citizens of 11355 are minority and its median household income is significantly below the borough’s average. In...
Coronavirus Heroes & Villains
In times of crisis, there are always those cool-headed heroes that use their brains and the brawn to help others. Like the 9/11 firefighters who rushed into the burning World Trade Center tower and ran up the stairs to their deaths. And at the other end of the...
Coping with Coronavirus
“…when the fear strikes we push it forward, change its shape, alter its impact. We have it but we don’t let it have us. Coronavirus panic is natural, but if our fear is going to be there, we might as well put it to use and make it work for us.” -Rare liver disease...
Chronically Alone
On a recent episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry is playing poker with his buddies and announces that he might have cancer. One by one, each of his so-called friends announce that they couldn’t be friends with him if the diagnosis comes back positive. Ouch! ...
The Case of the Missing Zebra
A couple years ago I fell very ill. It was a Sunday night after a stressful week of work, with part of the day spent playing with a friend’s rambunctious six-year old boy followed by a frozen "healthy" dinner that I had never eaten before. I tried to sleep but I...
The Million Traumas of Chronic Illness
"In the face of the world's harshness and danger, organisms of any kind develop protection — a coat of armor, a rigid system, a comforting ritual. For the short term, it may work, but for the long term it spells disaster.” -Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of...
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