After living on the Navajo Reservation as a schoolteacher, I developed a thirst for learning about people and places that were different from what I was familiar with. At the same time, I wanted to be of service in a meaningful way to the local community. Without realizing it, I repeatedly chose paths that would prepare me and bring me ever closer to finding the purpose of my life. Fortuitously, the Peace Corps had somewhat arbitrarily assigned me to teach topics related to health, first aid, nutrition, and home gardening in rural communities—even though I had never received formal training … Continue reading
Category Archives: Memoir
The gaping crevasses on Cotopaxi continued all the way to the summit. Extreme exhaustion and the hypoxia that comes with high altitude made me want to doze off while climbing, but the fear of falling into a crevasse kept me awake through force of will. Eventually the switchbacks ended as we faced extremely steep terrain where we had to use our ice axes to maintain our balance. With every few steps we swung them into the icy snow above our heads in order to prevent us from falling backwards. Hugo showed me how to kick the hard packed snow with … Continue reading
I haven’t forgotten you, dear readers, in spite of not communicating with you since my book “Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert” first appeared in print last March—coinciding with the time I was in Baja, Mexico, communing with the grey whales. I had no idea how intensely involved I would need to be in order to get my book out into the world after publication—unlike bygone days when the publishing company did most of the work for authors. Even with the expert help from my local publicity team—Israel Sushman and Nancy Murray—it has still been a lot of work … Continue reading
Dear Loyal Readers, Thank you for all your support and encouragement in getting this story into the light of day. For nearly a half-century I have wanted to tell the story about my life on the Navajo Reservation. What happened to me was so out of the ordinary, I felt compelled to tell the world about those experiences that profoundly changed the course of my life. But life kept me busy, especially once I became a medical doctor. Although friends and family urged me for years to write a book about those times, it was only recently that I felt … Continue reading
For the past two or three years, I have been facing the inevitable. All three of my older sisters have had hip replacements on their right hips for degenerative arthritis when they were approximately my age. Now it was my turn. But in my case, metal sensitivities made getting a hip replacement a more challenging problem. For over two years I searched in the US, the UK, and Europe for an orthopedic surgeon who could both relieve the rapidly growing pain in my right hip, as well as accommodate my sensitivities to the metals found in alloys used in hip … Continue reading
Once upon a time, long long ago—in the 1980s—two children were born—Danielle Zuralow in northern Virginia in 1986 and Barrett Dwyer in northern New Mexico in 1989. These two children had no idea that they were destined to meet, fall in love, and eventually get married. Danielle in the early years Barrett in the early years Fast Forward to April 2012 The two children, now grown up, first met by a chance encounter. In April of 2012, Danni had a birthday party that took place in a popular bar in Washington, DC. The owner had offered to close the … Continue reading
Soon after arriving at my parents’ home, Marshall Tome came to visit me. He had planned on staying one week. My parents liked him immediately and treated him with warmth. Nevertheless, after two days in New England, he was ready to go home to the reservation. I could sense his discomfort. I asked him privately why he wanted to leave early. His short response spoke volumes. “The sky is too small here.” I knew exactly what he meant. The sky was too small for me too. I drove Marshall to the airport in Boston. We hugged each other at the … Continue reading
I’m sitting on the ground with my legs stretched out and my back against a warm rock, talking to you on the tape recorder. The sun is about to set right behind me. I’m by myself. It’s quiet and peaceful. I have some thoughts and feelings I want to share with you. I’ve been out here herding sheep all summer with lots of solitude and time to think about life while I’m riding around on Jimmy’s back. I could stay in Red Rock forever, marry Marshall, and become a certified member of the Navajo Tribe—and hope you all would come … Continue reading
I’m herding the sheep right now while I’m talking in the tape recorder. There’s lots of time out here in Red Rock to think about life. I am learning a lot about the Navajo way of being, acting, and thinking. Many things are becoming clearer to me, things that I just couldn’t understand in the beginning. When I first came to the reservation I had a simplistic view that there was no basic difference between Navajos and Anglos. After all, we both are humans struggling for survival on this earth. We both need food and shelter and human companionship. After … Continue reading
Hello again. Today is August 4th. I have been here two months now. I am alone in the cabin. The only time I talk into the tape recorder is when I am alone. I would never do it when Grandmother was around. One time I took her picture with my Instamatic camera. Since then, she puts her hands over her face when she sees me with the camera or she turns and walks in another direction. Lee Tome doesn’t seem to mind at all when I ask if I can take his picture. He’s used to being in public and … Continue reading