Recently, during a routine doctor’s appointment for one of my children, the physician’s assistant paused as we walked out and said, “I’m a big fan of you and your husband, Seth’s, writing.” It caught me off guard. As conservative writers, our work is often contentious, and being recognized in a clinical setting was a new and slightly disorienting experience.
I say I’ve never been recognized in a medical setting before, but the truth is, I’m not so sure. Years ago, when I was pregnant with one of my children, I used a midwife practice that initially felt warm and supportive. However, toward the end of my first trimester, the demeanor of the primary midwife in the practice abruptly shifted. Once friendly, she became distant and cold. At a group meeting toward the end of my pregnancy, attended by other women due around the same time, that same midwife made a snide comment implying that I was heartless. It felt like the final confirmation of what I had begun to suspect: she had looked me up, realized I was a conservative writer, and had started treating me accordingly.
