38: My Life My Story with Dr. Susan Nathan and Thor Ringler

Saving veterans' stories, one patient at a time Dr. Susan Nathan, physician at the Boston VA, and Thor Ringler, therapist and poet in Madison, Wisconsin, talk about their experience with My Life, My Story. The VA program offers veterans the opportunity to record their life story—not only for posterity, but for their medical chart as well. Thor is the overall program director of My Life, My Story and an avid collector of patients' life stories. He was brought on board after two psychiatrists, Dr. Eileen Ahearn and Dr. Dean Krahn, recognized the need to promote greater understanding of the patients among the team of people caring for them. That led to the revolutionary idea of including 1,000 word narratives, told in the patient's voice, in the medical chart. In addition, each patient receives hard copies of the edited story to take home. Links & Stuff Want to volunteer for My Life, My Story? If you're in Boston, contact Dr. Susan Nathan. Anywhere else, email Thor Ringler. Want to learn more about narrative medicine? Check out these books by Dr. Rita Charon: The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness