Children who stutter have historically been met with impatience, derision or disregard when they can’t quickly express their thoughts and emotions. That’s the case for Maggie, the protagonist of author C.C. Harrington’s book WILDOAK, which urges us to listen to and support those with communication challenges. Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Heather Clark joins us to share her clinical expertise as a speech language pathologist.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens.

We talked with:

• Christina Harrington graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English Literature and has since worked for a national newspaper, studied printmaking and taught literacy to children with learning differences. She now lives in Maryland with her family and a dog who loves to eat manuscripts. WILDOAK is her first book.
• Heather M. Clark, Ph.D., is a speech-language pathologist serving children and adults with communication, cognitive, and/or swallowing difficulties. In addition to her clinical activities, Dr. Clark is active in research and education, providing mentorship to residents and fellows.

Purchase “WILDOAK.”

• From Bookshop.org.
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble.

Got feedback?

If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 

We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

Migraines can be absolutely debilitating, and many people with migraine live in fear of the next migraine attack. But when they try to talk about their symptoms, they may not be believed … or they might be told to take some ibuprofen and get over it. C. Michelle Lindley shows us what it’s like to live with migraine in her novel “The Nude.” She joins us with Mayo Clinic expert Dr. Rashmi Halker Singh to talk about migraine and its common misconceptions.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens.

We talked with:

• C. Michelle Lindley’s work can be found in Conjunctions, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. She is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow for 2024 and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell University and a BA in English and Art History from the University of California at Berkeley. “The Nude” is her first novel.
• Rashmi B. Halker Singh, M.D., is a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She studies primary and secondary headache disorders, including migraine and chronic daily headache.

Purchase “The Nude.”

• From Bookshop.org.
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble.

Resources:

• Mayo Clinic on migraine 
• American Migraine Foundation
• Mayo Clinic Press migraine resources

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected].
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.
• Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

When someone dies by suicide, their loved ones are often left asking questions like “How could this have happened?” The protagonist in Onyi Nwabineli’s debut novel “Someday, Maybe,” wrestles with these questions after the untimely death of husband. Onyi and Mayo Clinic psychologist Dr. Craig Sawchuk discuss processing grief, loss and guilt – and the importance of showing up and supporting those who are grieving. 

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens. 

If you're feeling overwhelmed by thoughts of not wanting to live or you're having urges to attempt suicide, get help now.

• Call a suicide hotline.
  • In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or use the Lifeline Chat at 988lifeline.org/chat/. Services are free and confidential.
  • If you’re a U.S. veteran or service member in crisis, call 988 and then press 1, or text 838255. Or chat using veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat/.
  • The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. has a Spanish language phone line at 1-888-628-9454.
• Call 911 in the U.S. or your local emergency number immediately.

We talked with:

• Onyi Nwabineli is a Nigerian British head-wrap aficionado. Born in Benin, Nigeria, she grew up in Glasgow, the Isle of Man and Newcastle, and now lives in London. Onyi is the cofounder of Surviving Out Loud, a fund that provides fiscal support for survivors of sexual assault, and the founder of Black Pens (black-pens.com), a writing retreat for Black womxn. Someday, Maybe is her debut novel.
• Craig Sawchuk, Ph.D., L.P., is a psychologist and the chair of the Division of Integrated Behavioral Health within the Department of Psychiatry & Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is also the co-chair for Clinical Practice in the department and a professor of psychology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His research aims to improve the treatment of anxiety and depression in primary care.

We talked about:

Purchase “Someday Maybe.”

• From Bookshop.org.
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble.

More resources:

• What to do when someone is thinking about suicide
• Suicide and suicidal thoughts 
• More suicide prevention resources from Mayo Clinic

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected].
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

Amid rising understanding and support for mental health disorders, some — like bipolar disorder — remain heavily shrouded in stigma. Author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova’s new book, “More or Less Maddy,” tackles this subject with accuracy and compassion. We talk to Lisa and Mayo Clinic licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Lorelei Rowe about how bipolar can affect those with the disorder and their loved ones. TW: self-harm, suicidal thoughts.

This episode was made possible with the generous support of Ken Stevens.

We talked with:

• Lisa Genova, Ph.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens, and Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar–winning film. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. She is featured in the documentary films To Not Fade Away and Have You Heard About Greg. Her TED talks on Alzheimer’s disease and memory have been viewed over eleven million times.
• Lorelei S. Rowe, Ph.D., L.P., is a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical director of the Adult Transitions Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Dr. Rowe's clinical practice focuses on recovery from an acute mental health crisis and treatment of chronic mental health conditions. She has expertise in cognitive behavioral therapies for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and couple relationship functioning, couple therapy, and group therapy.

Purchase “More or Less Maddy”

• From Bookshop.org. 
• From Amazon.  
• From Barnes & Noble.   

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.
• Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on  Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

Resources: 

• Different Types of Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder - National Institute of Mental Health
• More about bipolar - NIMH

Mayo Clinic resources: 

• Bipolar Disorder
• Bipolar treatment: Are bipolar I and bipolar II treated differently?
• Bipolar medications and weight gain
• Are you thinking about suicide? How to stay safe and find treatment

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

Either your family is messy and complicated at times or you’re lying. Author Laurie Frankel talks us through her wonderfully complex novel exploring adoption and the very concept of family. Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Dr. Sandra Rackley gives us her perspective on the nuanced realities of family relationships.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens. 

We talked with:

Laurie Frankel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of five novels. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Publisher’s Weekly, People Magazine, Lit Hub, The Sydney Morning Herald, and other publications. She is the recipient of the Washington State Book Award and the Endeavor Award. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and been optioned for film and TV. A former college professor, she now writes full-time in Seattle, Washington where she lives with her family and makes good soup.

Sandy Rackley, M.D., is a psychiatrist within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Her clinical practice focuses on care of children and teens presenting to the Emergency Department in a psychiatric crisis, and of youth who need psychiatric care while undergoing inpatient treatment for medical or surgical conditions. Dr. Rackley is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and the Assistant Dean for Trainee Well-Being for the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education.

This episode references another RTG episode, listen here: 1. It's complicated: Making decisions about your reproductive health

Purchase “Family Family.”

From Bookshop.org. 

From Amazon.  

From Barnes & Noble.  

Got feedback?

If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 

We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

Stroke is an often sudden and scary experience — and it can be followed by months of uncertainty about recovery. Tracey Lange depicts the aftermath of stroke, including the disruption of daily life and changing relationship dynamics, in her new novel “What Happened to the McCrays?” Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. Courtney Hrdlicka joins to lend her stroke expertise.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens. 

We talked with:

Tracey Lange was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in psychology before owning and operating a behavioral healthcare company with her husband for fifteen years. While writing her debut novel, We Are the Brennans, she completed the Stanford University online novel writing program. She currently lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, two sons, and beloved German Shepherd.

Courtney Hrdlicka, M.D. is a neurologist with subspecialty expertise in stroke and cerebrovascular disorders at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Her clinical focus includes expertise in management of both acute and chronic neurologic illnesses, cerebrovascular diseases, acute stroke treatments, and telemedicine in stroke treatment. In addition to her clinical duties, Dr. Hrdlicka is active in research and education, working with medical students, residents and fellows. She authors expert content and publishes in scientific journals.

Purchase “What Happened to the McCrays?”

• From Bookshop.org.
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble.

Got feedback?

If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 

We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on 

Mayo Clinic Connect

, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

While most people avoid talking or even thinking about death, Clover, the protagonist in Mikki Brammer’s novel “The Collected Regrets of Clover,” is a death doula. She sits with people as they die, offering them conversation, company and compassion. Mikki and hospice and palliative care expert Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson join us to consider how we approach the deaths of our loved ones – and ourselves.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens.

We talked with:

• Mikki Brammer is an Australian journalist and author from Tasmania, Australia. She is now based in Brooklyn, New York—by way of France and Spain—where she writes about design, architecture and art for publications such as Architectural Digest, Dwell and ELLE Decor. The Collected Regrets of Clover, her debut novel, is being published in 26 languages and territories and was named a Best Book of 2023 by NPR.
• Ann Marie Chiasson, M.D., M.P.H., is the Director of Education and the Fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Arizona.  She is board certified in Integrative Medicine, Family Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  Dr. Chiasson currently serves on the American Board of Integrative Medicine.  She has practiced Integrative Family Medicine in the United States and Canada and has served as a medical director for Valor Hospice, as an associate medical director for Casa De La Luz Hospice, and as the medical director of The Haven – a Women’s Addiction Recovery Center in Tucson, Arizona.  

Resources:

• International End-of-Life Doula Association
• National End-of-Life Doula Alliance
• What are end-of-life doulas? 

Purchase “The Collected Regrets of Clover”

• From Bookshop.org
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble. 

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.
• Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

Historically, the medical system was not designed to prioritize — or many times, even consider — women patients and providers. Dr. Elizabeth Comen wrote the book “All in Her Head,” to examine this troubled history and help educate and empower women to get the healthcare they deserve. Dr. Comen and Dr. Deborah Bartz join us to discuss how to break through the shame and misinformation surrounding women's bodies. 

This episode was made possible by the generous support of Ken Stevens.

We talked with:

• Elizabeth Comen, M.D., has dedicated her medical career to saving the lives of women. An award-winning, internationally sought-after clinician and physician-scientist, Dr. Comen is a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and an Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone. 
• Deborah Bartz, M.D., M.P.H., is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. Her current research program focuses on the development, assessment, and propagation of best educational practices of women’s health curricula.

Can't get enough?

Purchase “All in Her Head.”

• From Bookshop.org.
• From Amazon.
• From Barnes & Noble. 

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected]. 
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.
• Connect with others talking about the podcast in the Read. Talk. Grow. group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Connect is free, trusted, moderated, welcoming, safe and easy-to-use.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

If you're considering giving up drinking, you've probably been deterred by all you would be, well, giving up. Author Holly Whitaker and addiction psychiatrist Kristen Schmidt, M.D., flip the script on this discouraging outlook as they talk about everything you stand to gain.

We talked with:

• Holly Whitaker is a writer, researcher, teacher, student and the author of the wildly popular, New York Times Bestseller, "Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol."
• Kristen Schmidt, M.D., is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist at Park Nicollet.

Can't get enough?

• Purchase Holly's book "Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol."
  • From Bookshop.org
  • From Amazon
  • From Barnes & Noble
• Want to read more on the topic? Check out our blog:
  • Recognizing and addressing a loved one’s alcohol abuse.
  • How much is too much alcohol? Go by the numbers, not by feel
  • Drinking — It’s different for women

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected].
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.

We talked with:

• Gladys McGarey, M.D., was a pioneer in allopathic and holistic medical movements and practiced medicine even when she was over 100 years old. She was a founding diplomat of the American Board of Holistic Medicine. She was the cofounder and past president of the American Holistic Medical Association. She cared for thousands of patients and people all around the world and across all life stages from birth to death, where she inspired what she calls "living medicine."
• Larry Bergstrom, M.D., is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona in the Division of Consultative Medicine. He is the past chair of general internal medicine in Mayo Clinic in Rochester and moved to Mayo Clinic Arizona 2006 to start the integrative medicine program. Dr. Bergstrom sees patients for whom conventional medicine has had insufficient answers, including those with chronic fatigue, chronic pain, autoimmune disease.  He tells his patients that he is not so much focused on treating their disease but rather trying to find ways of helping them become healthy.

Can't get enough?

• Purchase the Mayo Clinic Press book “Live Younger Longer.”
• Purchase “The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age.”
  • From Bookshop.org.
  • From Amazon.
  • From Barnes & Noble.
• Want to read more about health topics? Check out our blog.

Got feedback?

• If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at [email protected].
• We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not designed to replace the physician’s medical assessment and judgment. Information presented is not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional medical assistance with specific questions pertaining to your own health if needed.