Mimi Zieman is a writer, physician, and speaker with a new memoir, Tap Dancing on Everest, about the risks we take to become our truest selves. She’s written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, that has been performed in multiple cities and has co-authored 16 editions of a medical guide, Managing Contraception. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Sun Magazine, Ms. Magazine, The Forward, NBC News THINK, and other publications. She did her OB/GYN training at Columbia University and is an advocate for reproductive rights, having served as Director of Family Planning, Emory University School of Medicine, Chief Medical Officer Planned Parenthood Southeast and as an advisor to the CDC working on contraceptive guidelines. Her newsletter provides medical news along with inspiration from art and nature.
In this episode:
Mimi’s career shift from working in the medical field to writing a memoir [1:11]
Ignoring “expert” advice and focusing on what works for you [5:55]
How she used throughlines to address multiple topics [9:34]
The genesis of her book’s title [11:45]
Writing about her cultural and religious background and family history to honor her ancestors [13:35]
Cultivating the book’s structure [16:40]
Adding poetry, metaphor and alliteration to enhance the book on the sentence and word level [22:40]
Finding that inciting incident that starts the book off [24:50]
Pushing through difficult moments to find the gold [27:00]
Writing to capture a universal experience for the reader [27:24]
The benefits of using precise language to build credibility [28:35]
Connect with Mimi
Website: www.mimiziemanmd.com/
Twitter: / mimiziemanmd
Instagram: / mimiziemanmd
Facebook: / mimiziemanmd
TikTok: / mimiziemanmd
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