As the whole world knows, New York City was devastated by COVID-19 this past spring and summer. In the first eight weeks, we lost more than 24,000 people, including my friend Jan Fornéy-Holden, may she rest in power. In June, when the worst of it seemed over, the City started letting restaurants serve diners out Read More
The World We Speak In
Act “As If”: Because the Only Thing We Control is Ourselves
NOTE: This post was written early in the COVID pandemic. The specific challenges of that moment have changed, but the struggle to feel in control (and thus the relevance of this post) sure hasn’t! Lately, A Feeling of Control is Hard to Come By… Like many people, I like thinking that I’m in control—of myself, Read More
Some Thoughts about Race for White Readers
NOTE: If you’re reading this post, it’s because you want to communicate (and think) more effectively about race. I hope these observations help. For most of my life—since I started working as a white vocalist in a Black music tradition, jazz—I’ve been thinking off and on about race. And yeah, did you catch where I Read More
Trying to Acknowledge Other People’s “Service” in the Pandemic
The Korean woman in the apron handed me the paper bag and stepped back. We bowed to each other, the way we might have at a Korean church. “Su go ha se yo,” I said, which translates to “Keep up your hard work,” but that isn’t it exactly. The phrase is a kindness, meaning, I Read More
What a Leader Looks Like
Most of us don’t match the stereotype In 2017, in response to The New Yorker magazine’s cover by French artist Malika Favre, groups of female surgeons began posting pictures of themselves with the hashtag #ThisIsWhatASurgeonLooksLike. (I’m proud that the first group to post included my client, Dr. Heather Logghe.) Of course, medicine isn’t the only Read More