Ask the Author: Hanna Saltzman
Answered Questions (3)
Hanna Saltzman
While working in the healthcare world (as a researcher, advocate, and journalist), I had three basic realizations that ultimately led to this book:
1. People without formal science backgrounds often want to learn more about the science of their bodies--and doing so can help their health in important ways;
2. The science of the human body is rarely explained such that people without formal science backgrounds can easily understand it; and
3. It's possible (and fun!) to write about that health science in a way that is accessible to non-scientists.
At the same time as I was thinking through these ideas, Uri Bram (the bestselling author of "Thinking Statistically," a book that explains basic statistics concepts in an engaging and easy-to-understand way) launched a popular-science publishing company. He approached me with the idea of writing a book about everyday health. Our ideas merged, and "No White Coat Necessary" was born!
1. People without formal science backgrounds often want to learn more about the science of their bodies--and doing so can help their health in important ways;
2. The science of the human body is rarely explained such that people without formal science backgrounds can easily understand it; and
3. It's possible (and fun!) to write about that health science in a way that is accessible to non-scientists.
At the same time as I was thinking through these ideas, Uri Bram (the bestselling author of "Thinking Statistically," a book that explains basic statistics concepts in an engaging and easy-to-understand way) launched a popular-science publishing company. He approached me with the idea of writing a book about everyday health. Our ideas merged, and "No White Coat Necessary" was born!
Hanna Saltzman
I just finished the final manuscript for my first book, "No White Coat Necessary: The Science of Everyday Health." Right now I'm working on finishing up the small things that accompany the book publishing process. In the near future, I'm planning to begin a series of creative nonfiction short stories, derived from personal experiences working in healthcare clinics and as a community organizer.
Hanna Saltzman
Taking a break to do something physical often helps, such as going for a walk, kneading bread, doing yoga. I also find it helpful to read a few pages of an author who writes in the same genre as whichever piece I'm attempting (e.g. for "No White Coat Necessary," I took frequent Mary Roach breaks). Sometimes the computer screen is what's holding me up, and so I try to jot down some thoughts in a notebook instead. And when writer's block lasts longer than a few hours (e.g. weeks or months where inspiration is low), I try to force myself to write anyway, preferably in the early morning, and preferably without judging or editing what ends up on the page. Then I go back later and salvage the good bits that emerged among the bad.
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