“Where have you been?” “That man with the hat has been up there too long.” Those are two of the many flattering comments I received while I took my hiatus. The truth of the matter is that I cannot really answer why I took a break, nor can I answer why I am coming back. I continue with my same tension. I want to describe the human struggles through a fictionalized version of my patient encounters, while at the same time, maintaining deep respect for the confidential relationship. This struggle continues to perplex me in ways that gets more intense as time passes along. Patient stories, even though I fictionalized them, are deeply personal experiences. They cannot leave my office, since the personal price to my patient, would be massive. The bedrock of my work, privacy, is the foundation on which we build trust and respect. At the same time, so much of what I hear are universal issues about relationships, be they spouses, friends, children, siblings or parents. These issues lend themselves to a general audience without revealing personal, or private, information. The internet allows me to cast these stories around the world, which sometimes, not often, open up a world-wide conversation which feels to me to be both helpful and interesting. The surprise of these “conversations” inspires me to continue to walk this very narrow path between sharing conflicts, while guarding privacy. I thank my readers for encouraging me to return. I am excited to be back.
Shirah Vollmer MD 