Health Beyond the Blog: Dr. Jessi Gold and “How Do You Feel?”

Dr. Gold reflects on how to walk the line between self-care and patient care in her new memoir.

by Merom Arthur

This past fall, Dr. Jessi Gold, published her vulnerable and provocative memoir, How Do You Feel?: One Doctor’s Search for Humanity.  Dr. Gold, the Chief Wellness Officer at the University of Tennessee, specializes in the psychiatric treatment of college students and healthcare workers, and also advises well-known members of the entertainment industry, such as Selena Gomez and her makeup brand Rare Beauty. 

In How Do You Feel?, Dr. Gold reflects on the challenges providers face when trying to balance self-care with dedicating their lives and careers to caring for others. She too has struggled with this paradox, culminating in an encounter that led her to question the state of her own mental health and her purpose within medicine. She explores this moment in her memoir and touches on the topics of wellbeing through patient narratives. With her book, she hopes to teach other providers that they must take care of themselves in order to take care of their patients, especially as we see the fall out of high nurse and physician burnout related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

How Do You Feel should be on the bookshelves of healthcare professionals, students interested in medicine, and anyone with a servant’s heart. Even religious leaders have noted its relatability to the lifestyle and responsibilities of the clergy, suggesting the widespread need for compassion not just for others, but for oneself.

How Do You Feel? can be purchased here or at a local bookstore.