Are you a writer, social worker, spiritual practitioner or business leader? Maybe you graduated from Columbia University’s Narrative Medicine CPA or Master of Science program, or trained at another medical or academic institution? Perhaps you have a hunger for sharing stories and exploring opportunities to bring the power of narratives to your non-medical community? If you are searching for opportunities and insights on launching, building or growing your narrative practice, you are not alone. We are here to help you!
Share in Nelly Edmondson’s journey as she bridges her journalism career with opportunities to create more humanistic interactions in healthcare. Here, she shares her experience and hopefully inspires you to pursue your passion for Narrative Practices.
For almost four decades, Nelly Edmondson has been a writer, editor and workshop leader. Her career has included top-tier magazines, newspapers and health and science publications, including The New York Times, Woman’s Day, Weight Watchers, and Breastcancer.org.
In this role, the Westchester, New York resident helps individuals and organizations harness the power of their narratives.
It’s not so much about the role of storyteller itself, although she does love listening to and writing about people’s stories; it’s more about the lives that are changed through giving voice to those stories. Because the stories people share shape the people they are.
At 48, Nelly was diagnosed with breast cancer, and became keenly aware of the power of writing, this time her own story: “I did a lot of journaling and found it very healing.”
That raw, expressive writing—far from the polished kind she did for clients—helped her “deal with stress and fear, process what was happening, and move along.” She received a grant from the Danbury, Connecticut Cultural Commission and began offering expressive writing workshops to cancer patients and survivors.
Over and over again, Nelly saw that what worked for her also worked for others: words have the power to help people heal.
Inspired by her own patient experience with Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and a growing focus on the intersection of art, literature and music on health, Nelly took a deep dive into the art of storytelling to better understand why stories matter, how they affect us, who we are when we share our narratives, and how we’re all connected through stories.
She was drawn to the practice of Narrative Medicine to create more humanistic healthcare.
“I felt it was a way to bridge my health writing to purposefully focus on narrative as a healing tool.” In 2016, she received a Master’s in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University.
Since then, Nelly has grown her expressive writing and journaling workshops to run more formalized Narrative Medicine sessions at healthcare organizations and in schools, teaching healthcare professionals and students how to harness storytelling and narrative skills to better communicate with their patients and deal with feelings about their work.
“Expressive writing helps people write their way through illness and recovery, especially for people who are interested in personal growth and reflection,” she says.
Nelly’s experience underscores the fact that there is no single path to narrative practice. Whether you’re in the healthcare, creative arts, research and education, communication or social justice fields seeking to create change and amplify the voices of others, you are a narrative practitioner.
“Narrative is the way we understand and see each other. What we express verbally and nonverbally opens up who we are as human beings. When we share our stories, we tell each other, ‘You are not alone."
On Her Passion for Storytelling
By reporting other people’s stories, Nelly demonstrates appreciation for the richness and diversity of the people around us. She believes we all should be inspired by the people we meet since the stories we reveal crack open the connections we can make with others.
On Becoming a Narrative Practice Pioneer
As a journalist, Nelly had the technical acumen to report other's stories — close listening with attention and empathy, reflection and trust —skills that mirror the tenets of Narrative Medicine.
“The effective practice of medicine requires narrative competence, that is, the ability to acknowledge, absorb, interpret, and act on the stories and plights of others,” wrote Rita Charon, MD, PhD, who is widely recognized as the originator of the field in a 2001 article in JAMA.
Curiosity and imagination drove every step along Nelly’s evolving writing career. She was always exploring how her strengths in researching ideas and shaping narratives were needed in a number of work environments. Narrative Medicine and the larger field of Narrative Practice mirrored all of her imaginings.
“Narrative Medicine is an emerging field that is ambitious in its vision for the future of healthcare, and with this specialized training, I hope to be part of a group of pioneers," she says.
On Practicing Narrative Medicine: Giving Voice to the Suffering
As a member of a team dubbed “The Sinai Six,” Nelly is one of a group of a half dozen Columbia Narrative Medicine graduates who teach providers and healthcare professionals at Mount Sinai Hospital (and several other New York healthcare systems) how to be close readers. Medical trainees develop skills to closely listen with attention and empathy to what their patients, administrators and staff communicate. These workshops help providers integrate critical narrative skills into clinical practice to better understand themselves, their colleagues, and care for their patients.
The Mindworks Questionnaire
1. Which living person do you most admire?
A: I admire many people. Two that stand out include Barack Obama, our 44th president, and journalist, political commentator, and author Fareed Zakaria, whom I watch every Sunday on TV. Both have truly international perspectives and are able to see world events from many points of view. I consider them both true Citizens of the World.
2. What is your greatest achievement?
A: Adopting my daughter, Kiran, who turns 30 this summer. My then-husband and I adopted Kiran from India when she was an infant (my then-husband is Indian) and brought her to the U.S. when she was six months old. Although parenting has had many ups and downs, adopting a child was one of my earliest dreams, and I am so glad that I was able to make that dream come true.
3. What are you grateful for?
A: I am grateful to be an American citizen. I was born in Cuba in Guantanamo, AFB to American parents, and was able to go back and visit Cuba 10 years ago. I loved the friendly people, the focus on music and art and the terrific mojitos I had there! However, I have always felt fully American, especially when traveling outside the country, and am always grateful when I return. While I have, at times, disagreed with our government's policies and actions, I have always felt that America has my back.
