ABOUT LAUREL

Laurel Braitman is a bestselling author, speaker, educator, and a trailblazer in the field of medical storytelling. Laurel inspires healing and mental wellness through her books and her work as the Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program. She is also the Founder of Writing Medicine, a global community of writing healthcare professionals.

As a thought leader in mental health, Laurel writes and teaches about healing, grief, and emotional wellbeing for all of us—humans and other animals—as reflected in her New York Times-bestselling Animal Madness and her memoir What Looks Like Bravery, about resilience born from loss.

Laurel passionately encourages those who have experienced loss and other trauma—including and especially healthcare professionals to communicate bravely and vulnerably in service of their own well-being and that of their patients and colleagues.

She has reached millions of people via her workshops, keynote talks, books, and courses, guiding participants to write their own paths toward healing.

Laurel empowers healing through storytelling VIA:

Her Books

Laurel has written two acclaimed nonfiction books. Animal Madness, about the mental health connection between humans and other animals and What Looks Like Bravery, a memoir of personal loss and healing.
Her Speaking

Laurel speaks to audiences around the world about authentic communication, embracing change, and improving mental health and resilience.
She has given three TED Talks: on the mental health of humans and other animals, the benefits of storytelling for medical professionals and the lessons she learned about resilience born from loss during her parents’ final days. She has also given an EndWell Talk on using grief to live better in the present.
Her Newsletter

Laurel’s Substack newsletter will allow you to hear from her more regularly and includes writing prompts, thoughts & essays on topics related to emotional wellbeing and the natural world, as well as news on Laurel and her projects.
Her work at Stanford

Laurel is the Director of Writing and Storytelling at Stanford Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program where she helps clinical students, staff and physicians communicate more clearly and vulnerably for their own benefit and that of their patients.
Her Workshops

Laurel’s workshops offer opportunities for reflective writing for medical professionals and their loved ones, as well as members of the general public.

Praise for laurel

“An inspiring memoir...Her prose is shot through with rigor and intellectual curiosity, resulting in a candid study of one woman’s long path to emotional peace. This is perfect for anyone looking to heal a broken heart."

— Publisher’s Weekly
"I freaking love 'What looks Like Bravery'."

Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, The Silver Star, and Half Broke Horses
“Laurel is one of the most thoughtful, largehearted animals I know, a kind of young Oliver Sacks with two X chromosomes”

Maria Popova, founder of Brainpickings and the Marginalian
"Read this survivor tale. Braitman transforms a free-fall, into a soaring triumph. It’s a little slutty, a lot brilliant, and you may notice the falcon that was always there, waiting for you to look up."

Jillian Lauren, New York Times Bestselling author of Some Girls, Pretty, All You Ever Wanted and more
"Embarrassing, especially the fake accents."

Laurel's nephew, Benny, Age 9
"'What Looks Like Bravery' is a gorgeous, tender and beautiful book. I'm in tears with the happy-sad truth and beauty of it. Laurel is a magnificent writer.”

Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things
"Like Hermione Granger, but ranchy."

Laurel's husband, Josh

Are you introducing Laurel on stage?

Laurel Braitman is a bestselling author, speaker, educator and trailblazer in the field of medical storytelling. Laurel inspires healing and mental wellness through her books and her work as the Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine. She is author of the memoir What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey from loss to love (Simon & Schuster) and the popular science book Animal Madness: Inside their minds. She holds a PhD in Science, Technology and Society from MIT and is the founder of Writing Medicine, a global community of writing healthcare professionals. . Her work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, on Radiolab, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, National Geographic and other publications.
Laurel lives on her family’s citrus and avocado ranch in Southern California.

Image of New York Times Bestseller, Laurel S. Braitman, smiling

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Nope! Just kidding. Send an email to info@laurelbraitman.com and we’ll send you a list of resources.
Not really because Laurel doesn’t know how she managed to do that stuff herself (except the avocados, that was her parents’ thing first). But she does teach writing (look at the teaching page) and she is headed around the country to meet folks in person (look at events).
Okay, no one actually asks this question. Laurel just wishes they did. She does what she does because she thinks it’s pretty lonely to be a human being. And when we share our stories, and encourage other people to share them too, we all feel less alone. Cheesy maybe…but also true.