Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Cambridge locals Dr. Annie Brewster and Rachel Zimmerman to discuss The Healing Power of Storytelling! This event  is free and open to all, taking place virtually via Crowdcast on Thursday, March 3 at 7pm.  One lucky attendee will be the winner of a The Healing Power of Storytelling journal, to be raffled off during the event.

Reframe your story--and reclaim your life--through the transformative practice of writing and storytelling.

When Harvard-trained physician Dr. Annie Brewster was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, she realized firsthand that the medical system to which she’d devoted her entire career was failing patients. The experience was dehumanizing. Her doctors weren’t listening. And the confusion, fear, and shame she felt around her diagnosis was preventing her from truly healing, claiming her story, and living her fullest, richest life.

The fact is, doctors can give you a life-changing diagnosis, but they’re not equipped to help you deal with the inner fallout: the confusion, anxiety, trauma, and dread that comes after “I have some bad news.” Here, Dr. Brewster shows how writing your own unique healing story can help you process what comes next--to come to terms, create new ways to thrive, and even reclaim your personal power amid fear, change, and uncertainty.

Dr. Brewster and journalist Rachel Zimmerman each share their own personal stories, acting as expert guides as you move forward on your healing journey. With exercises, reflections, writing prompts, and stories from other real patients, Dr. Brewster and Zimmerman show how you can:

   • Process the difficult emotions that come with life-changing diagnosis

   • Move beyond being the hero of your own story to become the author of your own story

   • Craft your narrative and share it in whatever medium speaks to you: music, audio, art, or writing

   • Integrate a traumatic health event into a new and evolving identity

   • Use applied storytelling techniques to strengthen connections between you and your loved ones (and even your care providers)

   • Cultivate resilience to move forward amid uncertainty and fear

ANNIE BREWSTER, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, a practicing physician at
Massachusetts General Hospital, a writer and a storyteller. She is also a patient, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She
started recording patient narratives in 2010 and, integrating her personal experiences with the research supporting the
health benefits of narrative, founded Health Story Collaborative (HSC) in 2013.
Dr. Brewster lives in Cambridge with her husband, four children and two dogs. She prefers to be awake rather than asleep,
and loves to hike, run in the woods, ski and play ice hockey. You can learn more about Brewster and HSC at
www.healthstorycollaborative.org and @HealthStoryCo.

RACHEL ZIMMERMAN has been a journalist, writer and editor for more than two decades, including as a staff writer
for The Wall Street Journal, a health reporter for WBUR, Boston’s public radio station, and co-founder of its popular blog,
CommonHealth. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Vogue.com, New York Magazine, “O” The Oprah
Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate and more. She co-authored The Doula Guide to Birth; and was a Knight Science Journalism
Fellow. Zimmerman received her MS from the Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism. Originally from
Brooklyn, she currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her family. Yoga and running keep her grounded. Learn
more at https://www.rachelzimmerman.net/ or @zimmerman082.

Dr. Annie Brewster and Rachel Zimmerman, The Healing Power of Storytelling