The Language of Care: Stories from the Penn Medicine Listening Lab

By Aaron Levy, Stephanie Kindt and Teya Sepinuck

As a gathering place for stories from across Penn Medicine, the Listening Lab affirms and celebrates listening as essential to the work of healing. This book is a compilation of stories recorded for the Listening Lab by patients, caregivers, staff, and providers at the front lines of caregiving. These stories have the capacity to change how we address some of healthcare's most pressing challenges around communication and connection. The simple act of listening has the potential to heal broken places within us and offers a radical possibility for healing to occur within healthcare and society as a whole.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781936994120

Book preview

Stories

While the stories that follow aspire to uplift and empower, they may also describe experiences of trauma and suffering. We recognize that listening can be a vulnerable experience and may prompt a need for additional resources and strategies for those seeking help.

Whether you are in the Penn Medicine community or beyond, we recommend the following resources to support your own mental health and wellness:

PennMedicineTogether offers strategies to help people cope, which we all do differently.

https://www.med.upenn.edu/PennMedicineTogether/

PennCOBALT is a tool for the Penn Community that uses targeted assessments to direct you to the right level of coping support. Anonymity is an option.

https://penncobalt.com/

National Suicide Prevention Hotline:

800-273-8255

Patient Stories

Listen online at pennlisteninglab.org/stories/

This story explores themes such as disability, gratitude, listening, physician vulnerability, relationships, spirituality, and transformation.

How does the experience of reading this story alter your feelings and influence your future