Hello everyone! Welcome to amuse-booth,
where I share my meandering thoughts and bite-sized musings about life and medicine.
I’m Madison. I am originally from a town just north of Toronto, Canada, where I grew up with my mom, dad, and 3 older brothers in a chaos- and love-filled home. I danced from the age of 8 and found it to be the ultimate salvation from all of life's troubles. I danced at a professional level throughout high school, and took a year off to continue training before starting university.
I moved to New York City to study biology and neuroscience at Pace University, where I obtained my Bachelor of Science degree, made amazingly vibrant friends, and resolved to pursue medicine as my lifelong career. I absolutely loved every minute of my time in NYC. It was formative in ways I am still coming to understand.
In 2018 I moved across the world to start medical school at the University of Queensland. It was a challenging experience to say the least, made more so in the context of the pandemic. The growth experienced in medical school has been astonishing, and sometimes I forget this. I stayed connected to dance throughout my medical degree, teaching dance at a local studio. However, it was during medical school that my relationship with yoga became more consistent and introspective. I obtained my 200-hour yoga teacher certification in the height of the pandemic when I was unable to fly home to see my family. I continue to cherish the benefits of my yoga practice, both as a teacher and student. And of course, I still dance.
Currently I am working as a locum doctor, traveling around Australia for various resident jobs. Working as a doctor continues to challenge and overwhelm me on multiple levels. I'm still learning how to be passionate about so many things in life and find some balance, and I hope to share some of that with you all here. That’s the purpose of amuse-booth: to offer my bite-sized, flavourful musings about medicine, life and everything in between.
Why this Substack, why now?
My intention is to create a single space to share my writing with my family, friends, loved ones, and maybe even strangers. Usually I write about my experience as a junior doctor living abroad in Australia and the complex challenges it carries. But sometimes I write fiction. Sometimes I write purely for catharsis and there is no theme. Lately I have been pushing myself to share my work and incorporate regular writing into my routine. So this is my personal project to do just that. It’s really just for fun. A creative outlet. I hope you enjoy.
This is a space for creative reflection, not for medical advice
I love hearing feedback when I share a story or a piece of work. It is one of the most rewarding aspects of writing. I am not here to provide medical advice, but I will share my musings on the medical world frequently.
I intend to post once a month
I don’t know what the theme will be at any given time. Whatever bubbles up is what I’ll share. Having you subscribe by email means you won’t miss new posts and I won’t have to hype myself up to share the links on social media (which is always a bit daunting).
Happy reading! Thanks for being here. I’m grateful for you.
