Thoughtful conversations with the people of Maine

I think the integration of both, we need them both. They're both effective and I'm grateful for my experiences in the emergency medicine and in primary care and having that experience of the more traditional medications or approach and then combined with this is so wonderful.

I always was nervous that pursuing a life in art and painting was going to be more difficult than I was willing to buy into. So getting a degree in education and teaching fine art, that seemed like a pretty steady way to keep my hand in making art, but creating a sort of secure lifestyle as well.

I think in my own work now, it's made me more appreciative of people, their struggles, understanding the people who are less affluent, who can't afford their medications or can't afford to get healthcare, who can't afford an extra hotel room a night in the hotel because they'd spent their entire budget for healthcare coming to see me, and we need to finish their evaluation in two days instead of four days. I think it's provided a sensitivity and a compassion that I wouldn't have had if I'd grown up in a urban area, the child of affluent individuals.