New York Times Bestselling author of WOMEN IN WHITE COATS. Writer on women, science, history. Bylines The Atlantic, The Guardian, NY Mag, Smithsonian, HISTORY, Aeon, LitHub. ocampbell.writer@gmail.com
We Are All Climate Change Deniers
"I know of no restorative of heart, body, and soul more effective against hopelessness than the restoration of the Earth." -Barry Lopez
The Creation of Yourself: On the Flow and Fugue of Dance
As the drummer beats his rhythm—the heels of his palms resounding against stretched animal hide—I move. I am moved. Arms reach and retract, spine twists and tilts, legs stretch and sweep across the vast, golden wood floor.
Are Postpartum Mothers The Ultimate Unreliable Narrators? Two New Novels Make The Case
Are these mothers going mad or are they actually experiencing something supernatural? Are the demons within or without? Either way, I recognized myself in them.
Abortion Remedies from a Medieval Catholic Nun(!)
Although it may sound implausible to the modern ear, Hildegard von Bingen, the medieval Catholic nun who is now sainted, also prescribed medicinal abortions.
If Achieving Success Meant Gaining 50 Pounds, Would You? I Did. Here’s What I Discovered.
I am the same person I was before I gained weight. The only thing that’s changed is how society views me.
The Heartbreaking Ingenuity of the Mother-Writer
That Great Male Authors require long periods of uninterrupted seclusion to think and write is a literary-world given rarely questioned. Mother-writers have to get more creative.
What Happens if You Sneeze on a Priceless Manuscript?
I was in an archive room at the London School of Economics, staring at 150-year-old documents complete with swirly handwriting and a red-wax seal, when I had a random yet horrifying thought: What if my nose starts bleeding on one of these irreplaceable pages? What would happen if I ruined them?
Revisiting the Pennsylvania ‘She Doctor’ Panic of 1869
“When we turned up at the clinic, pandemonium broke loose.”
The Long Silencing of Women in Science Continues Today
When future authors mine our history looking for amazing women in science to profile, what will they find?
The Queer Victorian Doctors Who Paved the Way for Women in Medicine
Sophia Jex-Blake’s sexuality was an asset in her role as a women’s rights trailblazer.
Medieval Pilgrims Apparently Tried to Ward Off the Plague With Bawdy Badges
While most metal pilgrim badges depict religious motifs and scenes related to specific saints and shrines, a not-insignificant number are sexual in nature.
Part of Being a Domestic Goddess in 17th-Century Europe Was Making Medicines
Hannah Woolley is often called the Martha Stewart of the 17th century, but a more apt comparison might be wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow. That’s because Woolley, author of the first books on household management and cookery published in English, didn’t just provide recipes for eel pie and hot chocolate wine alongside tips on seasonally decorating your mantel with mosses and mushrooms. She also offered up recipes for medicines.
It Takes a Good Zip Code to Raise a Child
People want to stress individual responsibility for health, but we’re trying to show the importance of building healthier communities. Zip codes, it seems, are just as influential in determining our health as genetic codes.
‘I Thought It Was Just a Bad Reaction to My Epidural’: A Mom’s Request for Her Medical Chart Years Later Led to Answers She Didn't Expect
“Relax,” Nurse Kelly says again. She places a pillow in my lap and tells me to flop forward onto it. I don’t have much of a lap left; I’m a week past my due date. My legs dangle over the side of the hospital bed as Kelly splays open the back of my gown. As the anesthesiologist’s needle pierces my back, my shoulders are tensed up to my ears.