
Bestselling author, speaker, educator, and thought leader in mental health.
Photo by Laurel’s good friend, Lauren Tabak.
Laurel writes and teaches about healing, grief, and emotional wellbeing for all of us—humans and other animals.
Her first book Animal Madness was a NYT bestseller and her 2023 memoir What Looks Like Bravery explores the particular form of resilience born from loss.
In her position as the Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program, and the founder of Writing Medicine, Laurel has helped thousands of medical professionals around the world become better communicators, find renewed purpose and meaning in their work, and combat burnout and overwhelm.
Recognized as a trailblazer in mental health, Laurel has encouraged millions via her storytelling workshops, keynotes, books, and courses to write their paths toward healing.
Whether she is coaching a burnt out surgeon writing their first memoir, an aspiring nurse working on an op-ed, or a cancer survivor telling their story live on-stage, Laurel inspires her colleagues, students and readers to communicate bravely and vulnerably in service of their emotional health and general wellbeing.
What People are Saying:
“Laurel extended a platform for me to tell a story, a personal one, for the first time. She encouraged everyone in the workshops to bare their hearts and explore their minds. These are opportunities for growth and purpose during a challenging time for all of us.”
— Anthony Carli, Physician Assistant student, Midwestern University, Arizona
“I appreciate Laurel providing an encouraging space to start writing again.”
— Dr. Rachel Han, Department of Psychiatry, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Buy her books
Hawk in a redwood tree that Laurel's parents planted, shot by her brother Jake.