TABLE OF CONTENTS

KAREN WOLK FEINSTEIN • Close Encounters of the Worst Kind
LEE GUTKIND • From the Editor
RUTHANN ROBSON • Notes from a Difficult Case
DEBORAH MCDONALD • The Agony and the Agony (read it online)
LINDA PEENO • Burden of Oath
RICHARD BEACH • Babies as a Problem
JUDITH DANCOFF • A Merging of Head and Heart
NATALIE SMITH PARRA • Interesting Case: Do Not Discard
RON GRANT • Hypoplastic Heart
CORNELIA REYNOLDS • The Last Train to Clarksville: A Journey Through Breast Cancer Diagnosis
NANCY LINNON • Postpartum
ERIN NEWPORT • Lessons from the Unlikely
BETH KEPHART • The Right Thing

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Our 21st issue, "Rage & Reconciliation: Inspiring a Health Care Revolution" features writers, both patients and doctors, exploring the current state of American health care.

In "Notes from a Difficult Case," winner of the Creative Nonfiction $10,000 Best Essay Award, Ruthann Robson, herself a lawyer, debates the potential effectiveness of her own medical malpractice suit. In "Burden of Oath," Linda Peeno tackles the medical ethics of HMOs. These and 9 other authors lend a personal perspective to problems in our health care system.

This issue received generous support from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.