Twice as Hard is a book written and published by fellow MS3 Jasmine Brown. The book details the long-erased stories of nine pioneering Black women physicians, including Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Dr. Edith Irby Jones, and Dr. Jocelyn Elders. As part of her upcoming book launch, apenndx recently spoke to Jasmine via Zoom and the contents of our interview are condensed below.
Krithika
Tell me a bit about yourself
Jasmine
I’m an MS3 from New Jersey. I went to WashU for undergrad, majored in neuroscience, and then went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where I completed a Master’s in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. In my free time I love to paint, especially using acrylics. I like to travel; I went to China for a bit, got to learn a bit of Mandarin and different forms of medicine. I love animals, I like to dance, and I like the beach.
Krithika
That’s impressive! What was it like to study at Oxford?
Jasmine
While doing my Master’s, I wanted to study structural barriers for black women entering medicine in the US. There was very little literature on physicians who were black and women. I wanted my research to be more accessible. During my 2 year Master’s, I wrote a 150 page dissertation on this topic, but I wanted to expand this beyond the confines of Oxford archives. I thought, Hey, maybe I should write a book instead.
Krithika
What was the process of publishing a book like?
Jasmine
I got a book deal in the fall during my first semester at Penn. I sent in a final manuscript to Beacon Press right before I started clerkships. The actual publishing process took place during clerkship year and the book release was right after, on January 24th.
Krithika
What motivated you to write Twice as Hard?
Jasmine
My journey began in undergrad. I was very involved in biomedical research and I planned to do an MD/PhD until I got Rhodes. I actually experienced prejudice in a lab towards the end of undergrad. I knew that there were other black students who had similar experiences. I wanted to understand where this was coming from and how to counteract that. I created the Minority Association of Rising Scientists with some like-minded students of color at Harvard I met while interning at the Broad Institute. They had created something similar in Boston and I wanted to take that nationally. When I found out about the Master’s in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, I was no longer sure if I wanted to do a PhD. I thought that if I understood the historical underpinning of race and sexism in medicine, I could better understand the current landscape.
Krithika
What are you hoping med students get out of your book?
Jasmine
I have 2 major goals. One is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine by raising awareness of these role models and inspiring younger people. Before undergrad, I had never met a black female physician. I realized that we were never taught these stories in various history classes in high school. Second, I want to shed light on historical barriers and provide guidance for leaders within medicine who strive to address the inequities that exist and give them more direction on what can be done to address this issue.
Krithika
How did you go about writing while you were in medical school? Was it hard to balance or did you appreciate having this time to work on a concrete goal outside of school and all of its constant to-do lists?
Jasmine
During pre-clerkship, I was intimidated about writing in med school, but I was more worried about not finishing the book before clerkship. I would primarily write in the mornings before class, try to go with the flow of school, writing a lot more when things were less intense. In times closer to exams I wouldn’t write at all. I wrote a lot during holidays and the summer between first and second year. I spent a month in Mexico with friends and just wrote!
During clerkship year, I was dealing with the publishers. It was a lot less work than actually writing the book. There were some times in the year that I had to be more involved but as clerkships went on, I was forced to focus on school. Some of the stuff, like contacting graphic designers, would not take too long and in fact were kind of fun and a good respite while working long hours.
Krithika
Are you excited to be published?
Jasmine
You know, it’s super cool seeing the response and like, seeing [the book] in the wild. I got to learn about the business of selling books and how placement of books within bookstores is so important.So here, you can see how my book is next to the top selling book in the country, which is crazy!
One of my friends sent me a photo of my book at a Barnes and Nobles in Long Island. For 10-15 minutes, I didn’t move. My heart was pounding and I had butterflies. I thought, Maybe if I move too much it wouldn’t be real. My book was there, next to Michelle Obama and Maya Angelou!
It’s been really exciting-addicting, even-being able to follow the book on Amazon. Right now, it’s the number one new release in the “History of Medicine and Women’s History” category. It’s number eight overall for “History of Medicine”. The whole process has been really fun and there have been so many highs within the publishing process.
Krithika
Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get involved in medical humanities work?
Jasmine
Sure! So for writing: think about something that you may be passionate about, something you have a lot of thoughts on, and just start writing. I was intimidated by the process of an entire book or even 10-20 page papers for class. Coming from a science background, that level of writing is extensive. Writing, like any other skill, is something that should continue to be honed and developed. I also think that we all start off with some level of competency and the best way to get better is to start working on it, like maybe submitting to apenndx!
Krithika
Who were your inspirations – literary or medical? Any good mentors at Penn or elsewhere?
Jasmine
I would say for mentors, I want to shout out Dr. Damon Tweedy and Dr. Michele Harper for being excellent mentors. I also was inspired by Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly.
Krithika
What are your favorite books/pieces of media?
Jasmine
Currently reading Candyhouse. I like the changes in point-of-view, it gives me lots to think about. I love the Handmaid’s Tale and really like dystopian and sci-fi novels.
apenndx is proudly hosting the book launch for Twice as Hard with SNMA, EBS, SIDE, and MHC at the Law Auditorium Friday February 17th 2023. RVSP now for a free copy of the book. Come learn about the histories and triumphs of groundbreaking Black Women Physicians.
To learn more about Jasmine Brown and her work, visit https://www.jasminebrownauthor.com
