Love and Nature

Valerie Brooke, MD

May 6
4 min

Alaskan Light

The first unusual phenomena I’ve been acutely aware of is the sunlight, and not just because there is so much of it, having passed the...

71 views1 comment

Valerie Brooke, MD

Jan 15
7 min

Wind Chill

I finally got on a plane yesterday to return from Wisconsin back to my current home in Reno, NV. I spent the last 3 weeks doing a locum...

116 views2 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Dec 26, 2023
5 min

The Whistling Santa

Yesterday, on Christmas Day, I flew from my home in Reno, NV, to Minneapolis, MN, to start a new traveling physician job at a...

106 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Nov 27, 2023
4 min

The Science of Gratitude

Many years before I studied to become a physician, giving thanks for the blessings in my life was the first part of my morning prayers. ...

85 views3 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Oct 30, 2023
3 min

The Last Frontier

I grew up in the Green Mountain State (Vermont), lived for a short time as an adolescent in the Granite State (New Hampshire), and for my...

89 views2 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Oct 18, 2023
4 min

Change

As the plane descended from the ash-colored clouds over Burlington, Vermont, I looked over the blunted orange and dark green leafed trees...

81 views5 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Sep 18, 2023
3 min

Curiosity and the Practice of Medicine

“Curiosity is the genesis of empathy,” were the astute words in my weekly email from writer Jeannine Ouellette. I'm taking a course from...

50 views1 comment

Valerie Brooke, MD

Jul 23, 2023
4 min

The Big Leap

“When we get quiet enough, for long enough, we can hear the whispers, of what is right, of what is true, and most importantly, which way...

160 views3 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Apr 24, 2023
3 min

Restoration

It's been a long time since I've written, too long for sure, but a lot has happened in my personal and professional life in the last...

107 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Sep 7, 2022
4 min

The Necessity of Fire

The second full day in Yosemite started out better than the first. We got up early to get to the valley floor before the crowds and the...

45 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Aug 28, 2022
5 min

Perfect Versus Good

It was Voltaire who is attributed with the aphorism “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I have been contemplating this...

66 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Aug 21, 2022
4 min

Make Friends with Reality

I had been looking forward to going to Yosemite for years. We finally lived in a place that was within easy driving distance. I could...

71 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Aug 8, 2022
4 min

Stuck in the mud of procrastination

Stuck. Procrastinating. Directionless. Resistant. These are the words that come to mind when I think about my writing. Or more...

57 views1 comment

Valerie Brooke, MD

May 9, 2022
5 min

Love and Money

It took me many drives to work to realize what bothered me about this billboard. At first, I thought it was because I could not for the...

78 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Jan 9, 2022
4 min

The Owl and the Cheese

In 2001, Drs Friedman and Forster designed an experiment where two sets of college students were tasked to complete a computer maze,...

65 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Sep 13, 2021
3 min

The Power of Stillness

Yesterday I was finally able to go outside and attend to my yard and garden, as the smoke from the CA wildfires has finally shifted. Not...

38 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Jul 5, 2021
5 min

Boxes and Boundaries

Many years ago, a wise therapist gave me some excellent guidance in how to stay sane while parenting a teenager. “Set up a box of...

75 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

May 31, 2021
4 min

Love and Work

I have been working some sort of job since I was a teenager. My mother was approached at church the summer I had just turned fourteen by...

251 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Apr 14, 2021
4 min

Spreading Wings

The hoo hoodoo hoooo hoo woke me up in the early morning hours. It was just after 4 am. My alarm would go off soon anyway, so I dragged...

51 views0 comments

Valerie Brooke, MD

Mar 25, 2021
4 min

The Listening Path - Part 1

I recently began a six-week writing course called The Listening Path by Julia Cameron. One of the assignments was to write down, from the...

50 views0 comments