She published her first book, Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders for Primary Care Providers, in 2000. In 2004, she and her husband, Tom Robbins, MD, traveled to Tanzania to teach at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center; the duo returned many times in subsequent years and helped build an otolaryngology program in Moshi, Tanzania.
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July 2022The sights, sounds, and smells of Tanzania are the backdrop for Dr. Woodson’s hybrid-published novel, After Kilimanjaro, which came out in 2019. It tells the story of a burned-out female surgeon who travels to the country to study maternal mortality and is forever changed by her experience.
“It’s easier to write about things that you know,” Dr. Woodson said, noting that the book also highlights medical issues she cares about deeply, including maternal outcomes, women’s health, and female genital mutilation. “If you write an article in a professional journal, you’re essentially preaching to the choir of people who already think about these things. If you slip it into a book, you have an opportunity to educate a different population,” Dr. Woodson said.
She’s currently finishing her second novel, Leaving La Jolla. The book’s protagonist is a widowed physician who returns to her West Texas hometown with her children and must reckon with the impact of the opioid crisis.
“Writing is so fulfilling because you’re creating something,” Dr. Woodson said, “and you have a chance to share things that you think are important.”
Read more: www.gaylewoodson.com
Julie Wei, MD
Author, A Healthier Wei: Reclaiming Health for Misdiagnosed & Overmedicated Children Co-author, Acid Reflux in Children: How Healthy Eating Can Fix Your Child’s Asthma, Allergies, Obesity, Nasal Congestion, Cough & Croup
President, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology
Professor, Otolaryngology–Head Neck Surgery; Chair of Otolaryngology Education, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
“My calling in this universe is to be the best doctor I can be,” said Dr. Wei, which is why she empowers families via the written word.
Early in her career, Dr. Wei realized that she was spending a lot of time in the clinic educating families about health and nutrition. Many of her young patients were on multiple medications but still suffered from chronic cough, runny nose, and allergy-like symptoms. Dr. Wei thought back to her childhood in Taiwan: “My mother went first to the market and kitchen if I was sick. Like most women from my native country, she knew that what goes in the mouth comes out in the health.”