Dr. Annie Brewster is an internal medicine doctor, founder of Health Story Collaborative and professor at Harvard. Rachelle Alford is a former ER nurse, dancer and artist. Both live with chronic illnesses. Both strongly believe in the transformational power of sharing one's story. Story-telling heals. And by healing, we mean it empowers, connects and helps us find purpose and meaning through some of the hardest of times. When a doctor delivers a diagnosis, it’s usually the end of the story. But for the patient, a diagnosis is just the starting point. A patient must walk away and begin the long, winding journey of integrating this diagnosis into their life, relationships and identity. In this episode, Annie and Rachelle explore the power of patient narrative from the perspective as patients and as providers. Through sharing their health narratives and encouraging others to do so, they explore how they are turning their messes into messages, the barriers to listening and sharing in our current healthcare system, and how the process of story-telling helps us identify and articulate the new-found strengths and perspectives that are born from our brokenness. Research shows that storytelling is healing for both story sharers and listeners. The trials we endure could be someone else’s survival guide and ultimately remind us all that we are not alone.
