Health Writing and Editing 

I often tell people I became a health writer and editor by accident.

I was preparing to become an adult education teacher. I’d spent over 15 years volunteering with adult literacy programs, working with students learning English as an additional language (sometimes referred to as ESL or ESOL). My roles included tutoring, facilitating conversation groups, assessing language skills, and substitute teaching for a nonprofit serving new immigrants. 

In early 2006, however, plans started to change. I moved back to my childhood home to take care of my Mom, who had dementia. Like many caregivers, I had to build a new way of working—something flexible that I could do at home. 

I’d always been a writer, and by this time, I had a couple of Boston Sunday Globe essays under my belt. A former colleague asked if I’d be interested in trying health writing, as his content manager needed a hand. 

Since then, I’ve written on dozens of topics in specialties like the following: