Caryn Lerman, Director of Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine of USC, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I’m Writing a Novel. Here’s Why.
Four years ago, I started writing a novel, escaping into another world. On my time. At my pace.
The creative process grounded me. It helped me emerge from work burnout in ways nothing else could.
The novel is called ‘The Trip.’ It follows a young neuroscientist who travels to Mexico searching for psilocybin mushrooms. What she discovers forces her to question everything: her identity, ways of healing, and the ethics of extracting indigenous wisdom.
Writing fiction opened new connections for me—literally. It led to a research collaboration with Rael Cahn to study psilocybin in the lab. The first study of psychedelics at USC. It led me to convene a meeting of western scientists, psychedelic practitioners, and indigenous healers.
Creativity isn’t separate from discovery. Sometimes it leads you exactly where you need to go.
I move to Santa Fe on Saturday. Land of Enchantment. I’ll live part-time in LA until my successor is in place, but the new chapter is beginning.
What creative project is calling you?”
More posts featuring Caryn Lerman on OncoDaily.