I recently had the privilege of co-chairing the 2024 John P. McGovern Award Lectureship, the most important event of the American Medical Writers Association Southwest Chapter.
Mimi Swartz, an executive director at Texas Monthly and contributor to publications such as The New Yorker, was the deserving recipient of this year’s award for her book, Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart.
Mimi isn’t an expert in the field of cardiology, so her lecture focused on how to write a book about a medical topic when you don’t know much about medicine.
Her talk resonated with me for multiple reasons.
I’m a bookworm who is always on the lookout for new additions to my reading list. I am fascinated by the backstories of how books came to be, so I was keen to hear Mimi’s experience. She shared stories of patients with heart conditions and stories of the surgeons who pioneered the idea of creating an artificial heart. She told us about the impact of technology on heart medicine and touched upon the emotional, spiritual, and artistic aspects of studying the heart.
Books that seamlessly combine various genres have a special appeal. I haven’t read this book yet, but Ticker appears to expertly blend journalistic reporting, medical advancements, and personal stories. Mimi’s storytelling drew me in from the beginning of her lecture. She talked about her research and writing process. She also read passages from the book, giving us a glimpse into the fascinating journey of this ambitious project and allowing us to learn more about the artificial heart and empathize with the characters on a deeper level.
As a health writer, I frequently integrate expert quotes into my articles. That’s why I was particularly intrigued to discover how Mimi managed to establish a connection with the heart surgeons who were working toward developing the artificial heart. Mimi shared she didn’t receive an immediate response, but emphasized that being polite, kind, and incredibly patient were crucial factors in building a strong rapport with the surgeons and hear their stories.
I was honored to meet Mimi and attend her lecture. And her book is now on top of my reading wish list!
The 2024 John P. McGovern Award Lecture was co-sponsored by AMWA Southwest, the UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the John P. McGovern Foundation.
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