I recently had the joy of learning that author Michael Lund picked my essay, “Weight” to reflect upon in his recent post that was published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine’s Crossroads Blog.

My essay detailed my grief and complicated emotions after my beloved aunt’s death in 2013. Lund’s fictional short story “Bees” involves grief that comes from a terminal diagnosis. Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine offers an interesting opportunity via its Crossroads Blog. It asks those who are published in the current issue of Intima to write a blog article that connects their contribution with that of a previous submission. Lund’s story was published in the Fall 2020 edition of Intima and he connected to my Spring 2020 story.

I also contributed to Crossroads, when I reflected on artist Inés Ixierda’s drawing “Fasciotomy” from the Spring 2016 edition. One of the missions of Intima is to facilitate communication and understanding between patients/caregivers/medical professionals. This fits well with the concept of connecting unrelated submissions in the Crossroads Blog.

I have to admit that I had never heard of Intima prior to discovering them through Submittable and taking a chance that “Weight” might be a good fit. I was thrilled to be published in Intima, but even more, it has led me to discover new artists and writers. The idea of a medical journal might send some people away, thinking it is not for them, but as someone who is not in the medical field, I find Intima to be very accessible. All of us humans go through grief and pain. A majority of us will experience our own medical problems or be caretakers for people that we love. Intima is a platform for conversations around these issues. I encourage you to check it out.

As a sweet bonus, Lund’s blog was posted on Veteran’s Day. Lund is a Veteran and he also teaches creative writing to a Veteran’s group. He couldn’t have known it, but this holiday also has a connection with my family. Although “Weight” is primarily about my Aunt Trudy, it is also connected to my Uncle Larry. My aunt and uncle had an epic love story and both passed in 2013. The grief from my aunt’s passing and the difficulties in carrying for her in her last months, we most certainly compounded from losing my Uncle. He passed in April and she passed in December. My uncle was a Navy veteran and they are buried together at Riverside National Cemetery in California. Prior to learning about Lund’s post, I had been thinking about my uncle and missing him on Veteran’s Day.

I will close with a picture of my aunt and uncle on their wedding day in Las Vegas. They are loved and very much missed.