JESSI GOLD W/ JAMILA SMITH-YOUNG: HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Join us as we welcome JESSI GOLD in conversation with JAMILA SMITH-YOUNG on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10 at 6:30 pm to celebrate her new book HOW DO YOU FEEL?: ONE DOCTOR’S SEARCH FOR HUMANITY IN MEDICINE
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A poignant and thought-provoking memoir following one psychiatrist and four of her patients as they deal with the unspoken mental and physical costs of caring for others–perfect for fans of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and The In-Between.
For Dr. Jessi Gold, everything was absolutely fine–until it suddenly wasn’t. As an assistant professor, practicing psychiatrist, university wellness leader, regular media expert, and dedicated friend and family member, Jessi was used to being constantly busy. After all, people–her patients, colleagues, and loved ones–needed her, so who was she to say no to any opportunity to help, be that an extra therapy session, corporate wellness talk, or favor for a friend. She was a doctor, trained to serve, to put the needs of others before her own. But when Jessi is so mentally overwhelmed that she commits an unthinkable error during a patient session, she’s forced to reevaluate everything that the medical system has taught her.
While reassessing her own complex relationship to the health-care industry, Jessi begins to examine it through the eyes of some of her healthcare worker patients–a thirty-something resident with OCD, a pregnant nurse suffering from PTSD, an aspiring medical student with crippling test anxiety, and an experienced ER physician who feels completely overwhelmed. In their discussions of burnout, perfectionism, empathy, and the emotional burden of working in health care, and through her own personal therapy sessions, Jessi recognizes that she is not alone in struggling to maintain her humanity, in a field that she chose because of its humanity in the first place.
Expertly weaving research expertise with unforgettable stories and raw emotion, How Do You Feel? demonstrates the unbridled capacity that we as humans have for connecting, learning, and growing. At once deeply personal, but also utterly universal, it reminds us all that when caring for others, we first have to remember to care for ourselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Psychiatrist Jessi Gold, MD, MS, is the Chief Wellness Officer of the University of Tennessee System and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is a fierce mental health advocate and highly sought-after expert in the media on everything from burnout to celebrity self-disclosure. Dr. Gold has written widely for the popular press, including for The New York Times, The Atlantic, InStyle, Slate, and Self. In her clinical practice, she sees health care workers, trainees, and young adults in college. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (with a degree in anthropology), the Yale School of Medicine, and the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry, she spends her free time traveling with her friends, watching live music (especially Taylor Swift) or mindless television, and on walks with her dog, Winnie. Find her on X, Instagram, TikTok, or Threads @DrJessiGo
ABOUT THE IN-CONVERSATION PARNTER:
Dr. Jamila Smith-Young is a nurse practitioner with a certification in pediatric acute care. She is a native Memphian and has spent over 14 years in the healthcare field specializing in Endocrinology and Pulmonology. She currently practices as a Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse Practitioner for UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists focusing on diabetes and other endocrine disorders. Dr. Smith-Young contributes to the careers of current and future nurse practitioners as an Assistant Professor and mentor in the College of Nursing at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). She serves as a co-investigator on a number of clinical research projects related to pediatric diabetes, hypothyroidism and most recently a HRSA grant focusing on social determinants of health and health equity. She is a published author and has presented at national conferences focusing on diabetes and pulmonology. She is the founder of Forward 901, a 501c4, whose mission focuses on enhancing the overall quality of life in Memphis by supporting programs, activities, and events for youth and disadvantaged populations. Dr. Smith-Young is the wife of Memphis Mayor Paul Young. Together they are a dynamic duo in this community. They have two children, Zoe and Paxton.
