The Story of an African Christmas

It is a little known fact that long ago, back when they first realised that the world was big (and round), the Santas of the world united to ensure that no child would be left without joy during the festive season. That’s right: Santa, or “Father Christmas”, as we called him growing up, is in

in memoriam

it is a curious thing, when one of our own dies young. and I do mean curious there are just a handful of common things that kill young doctors and our profession demands nay normalises we find those common-things-that-occur-commonly this is no simple diagnostics it is more than morbid curiosity it is a need-to-know (if

The Future of This Blog

Someone once commented on this blog’s heading*. “Reader, traveler, politics, medical student…” they mused, “Are you sure you’re in the right field of study?” For a second, I thought they were joking. But they weren’t. I had spent enough time wrestling with my career choice. Suggesting that it was a poor one did not dissuade

Questions on Blogging for Readers Past/Present/Future

I’m not really sure what my place is, these days. And whether it still is with this blog. I will forever be Barefootmeds, but will I continue to tread my footprints here? 

I’m Writing Lists This November

Moving on: THERE IS A NEW SOCIAL NETWORK AND IT IS ALL ABOUT WRITING LISTS. (I think NaNoWriMo is cool but I’m trying something new this year.)

An Audio Treat in Afrikaans

As a little girl, my dad created a special story and character with which to entertain me at bedtime. Her name was Lientjie (pronounced “Linky”) and she was a “cheerful butterfly”. As you may recall, my dad is visually impaired, so bedtime stories were told (often of his own invention, as is this one) and not read.

Go Set A Watchman Read in a Parallel Universe

A review of Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, as imagined in a world where To Kill A Mockingbird never existed; and therefore GSaW did not become an instant bestseller based purely upon its history.

Throwback: Roadtrip Through History

I wrote this post as a note on Facebook exactly five years ago, 6 July 2010. I’m often ashamed when I read my past writings, but this isn’t one of those times. I’ve left it exactly as is. I’m not sure how much sense it will make to people who are not familiar with South

My Booming Frontal Cortex

It started with a feelings of disconnect and then intense reconnection; and a lot of confusion about my role in society as a doctor, a daughter, a sister, a partner, a citizen.

The Passion Deception: Beyond What You “Like”

If you have been told your whole life that you need simply to do what you love (and you’ll “never work a day in your life”, yada yada yada), you might not know HOW else to choose a path forward.