Diversity SPEAKS!

Dr. Bhuvaneswar grew up in New York City in a

largely South Asian and multiracial working class

community, obtained scholarships for a magnet

school and for an undergraduate degree at Yale

University, then post graduation at Oxford

University. She studied medicine on the West

Coast and finished her residency at Harvard

University. Currently, Dr. Bhuvaneswar is serving

as an attending in a variety of inpatient psychiatry

roles which she says has “given me a structured

enough practice to care for my children before and

after specific hours caring for hospitalized

patients.” Dr. Bhuvaneswar’s debut short story

collection, WHITE DANCING ELEPHANTS, out

from Dzanc Books on Oct 9 2018 was a Buzz Books Fall 2018 selection from Publisher's

Marketplace, and will be included in the forthcoming anthology EVERYDAY PEOPLE, ed.

Jenn Baker (Atria, 2018). She was the winner of DZANC BOOKS SHORT STORY

COLLECTION PRIZE and the winner of NARRATIVE MAGAZINE "TOP FIVE STORIES OF

THE WEEK" for 2017. Her book has received glowing reviews that have included the

following blurbs, “Chaya Bhuvaneswar is a master of literary stealth. Seduced by her

luminous, intimate voice, I was unprepared for the shattering force of her honesty and

insight. Authentic, fearless and wholly original, WHITE DANCING ELEPHANTS is a

knockout collection” (Jillian Medoff, author of THIS COULD HURT) and “A magnificent

collection of stories that defy conventions, stereotypes, and reveal the universal

complexity we all share as humans—gifted and flawed individuals, who struggle to

reconcile the mixed signals of our own hearts” (Jamie Ford, author of HOTEL ON THE

CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET).

A Newsletter brought to you by the Diversity Mentoring Workgroup

Welcome to the 8th issue of our diversity newsletter. We hope this

newsletter will inspire conversation and action to promote

diversity of perspectives and experiences in the pursuit of academic

excellence in training, research, teaching and service. The Diversity

SPEAKS newsletter is sponsored by the Diversity Training

Committee of the Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium

and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies.

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My interest in writing and publishing a book of stories grew at first out of wanting to describe what seemed like unique experiences – often being the first woman of color in a given role (I.e. I was the first woman of color Medical Director of a 10,000-patient community mental health organization; I was only the second-ever American Rhodes Scholar of South Asian descent, and one of the first women of color to receive

this scholarship; I was one of only two women of color philosophy majors at Yale my year; certainly the first woman

of color psychiatry resident to receive NIH funding during residency and prior to my program creating any kind of research track; and so on.) I felt that my own resilience, as well as the ability of others to find comfort in the fact that they are not alone in the various forms of aggression (micro and macro) that we as women of color face constantly in these roles, would be greatly enhanced by writing. But it’s definitely not all that conscious a process either. James Baldwin

described the feeling so well when he wrote: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” I think we write for the same reasons we read.

I am very grateful to be publishing

with the same press, Dzanc Books,

that has been publishing incredible

writers, including Brown

University’s own Robert Coover. I

strongly encourage anyone wanting

to support Brown writers (no pun

intended) to check out

www.dzancbooks.org where you

can also find the work of Charles

Johnson, only the second African

American writer (after Ralph

Ellison of Invisible Man) to receive

an American Book Award. My

book presents stories of the

#MeToo movement from the

diverse perspectives of women of

color and LBGTQ women. It also

features willful androids, strange

orphanages, 16th century Indian-

Portuguese slaves who outwit their

captors, and the Buddha's birth

story.

“you think your pain

and your heartbreak

are unprecedented in

the history of the world,

but then you read”

Stories are often written over many

years, and like many clinicians

who write – the social worker/

therapist Amy Bloom among them

(whose work I strongly

recommend) – so much of writing

stories is about snatching time, and

stories more than longer works do

lend themselves to being written in

an afternoon, at least the first draft!

I think one strong impetus was

accepting, after my second child

reached preschool age, that it was

not going to mean she needed me

less, that if anything the parenting

had to deepen, and so I just had to

accept that I was not going to have

large blocks of time to write, and I

would just have to grab what I had

which were slices of time in

between other things.

Definitely. Several of the stories

feature people struggling

with mental illness –

whether an artist with

schizophrenia living in

India, a character based

on an uncle of mine, or a

young woman in therapy –

sparked by my realizing one day

how much social media and the

Internet have really changed the

scope of how we think about the

psychotherapeutic frame. I value

the thoughtfulness that goes along

with training in, and practicing

medicine and psychiatry, though

more than anything, it is a joy to

explore the world of the

imagination and I really enjoyed

writing the science fiction stories

as well.

I think the story of a young

woman surviving a brutal rape was

probably the hardest to write – not

because I flinched from the terrible

reality of what she had

experienced, but because I wanted

to do justice to the complexity of

her emotions, in this case, the

genuine playfulness and plain

human curiosity that had made her

vulnerable to a man who turned out

to be a rapist though she never

could have predicted that.

On work life balance... “...had to accept that I was not going to have

large blocks of time to write, and I would

just have to grab what I had which were

slices of time in between other things. “

It really speaks to the resilience of

the human spirit, how every time

we make something – whether a

work of art, a piece of writing, or

for many of us, a vibrant

organization that serves other

people or that functions as a

research unit or that successfully

carries out some needed act of

political organizing and unity – we

are creating something that could

survive beyond our individual

lives, we are connecting to

something larger. I am grateful to

have a small way to participate in

that kind of very positive and

healing activity and more grateful

still that since writing can be done

with a minimum of equipment and

in the corner spaces of a full house,

I feel like hopefully I could

continue as long as possible.

I think the gatekeepers of

publishing – publishing executives,

editors, literary agents (the people

who sell writers’ manuscripts to

publishers, the intermediaries

between writers and publishers)

just need to get more diverse.

There are many initiatives in this

regard. People certainly realize that

more stories need to be told, and

there are readers eager to embrace

stories of others who are different

but recognizable and relatable in

their human struggles and joys.

Here is a wonderful though brief

selection relating to mental health –

enjoy!

Everything Here is Beautiful

by Mira T Lee

The Collected Schizophrenias

by Esme Wajun Wang

Sick by Porochista Khakpour

Freshwater Akwaeke Emezi

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

“there are readers eager to

embrace stories of others

who are different but

recognizable and relatable

in their human struggles

and joys”

1. Mix chickpeas, tuna, red onion, and black olives in a bowl

2. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil as desired

3. Slice boiled eggs and place over the other ingredients

4. Sprinkle the parsley over the top 5. Enjoy! Note: You can also add cubed boiled potatoes. Typically served with white rice.

Tuna and chickpea salad –a typical dish in

Cape Verdean and Portuguese cuisine

1 8oz can of tuna in oil

2 cups of chickpeas (cooked and drained)

2 boiled eggs

1/4 C red onion (finely chopped)

1/4 C parsley (chopped)

1/4 C black olives (pitted)

Salt, pepper, olive oil, to taste

June 7-10

Where: Downtown Providence, RI

Description: Providence’s art festival that combines art, culture, and culinary delights featuring music, dance, food, and art installations

Website: www.pvdfest.com

June 14 Where: Multiple Locations; see description for details

Description: The Office of Women in Medicine and Science conference offers skills and strategies for academic advancement, with additional goals of promoting diversity, mentoring, and collaboration

Website: http://med.brown.edu/cme/brochure/OWMS_2018.pdf

June 9-10

Where: Alex and Ani Rink, Providence, RI

Description: A celebration of Portuguese history, language, and culture with a Portuguese-themed WaterFire

Website: www.ridayofportugal.org

June 16

Where: Downtown Providence, RI

Description: The parade aims to promote a positive and safe environment and to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community

Website: www.prideri.org/parade

June 19; July 24; August 14; August 28

Where: McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, RI

Description: As part of a new outreach initiative with the Latino community, for Tuesday home games in 2018, the PawSox will change their name, wear different uniforms, provide video board information, announcements, and lineups in Spanish, and feature Hispanic music and food.

Website: www.milb.com/pawtucket

June 30

Where: Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence, RI

Description: The Roger Williams Park Zoo’s largest single-night fundraiser featuring food from fantastic local restaurants, live music, and dancing

Website: www.rwpzoo.org/zoobilee

June 27-28,30; July 7, 10, 13, & 27 (more dates TBA)

Where: Venues vary by date (Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls)

Description: Free bilingual productions of Shakespeare’s The Tempest offered by Trinity Repertory Company in partnership with Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA)

Website: www.trinityrep.com/shows/other-productions/teatro-en-el-verano

July 8

Where: India Point Park, Providence, RI

Description: A celebration featuring traditional music, dance, and food, cultural health/wellness and educational tents, arts and crafts

Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/2081984518703377/

Lauren Connell, Maria Teresa Coutinho, Cara Murphy,

Von Marie Rodriguez-Guzman, & Caron Zlotnick

Diversity SPEAKS! A Newsletter brought to you by the Diversity Mentoring Workgroup

The Diversity Committee periodically identifies articles to promote reflection on important topics within diversity.

Source: Bonanno, G. A., Galea, S., Bucciarelli, A., & Vlahov, D. (2007). What predicts psychological resilience after disaster? The role of demographics, resources, and life stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 671-682. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.75.5.671

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that most adults exposed to potentially traumatic events are resilient. However, research on the factors that may promote or deter adult resilience has been limited. This study examined patterns of association between resilience and various socio-contextual factors. The authors used data from a random-digit-dial phone survey (N= 2,752) conducted in the New York City area after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Resilience was defined as having 1 or 0 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and as being associated with low levels of depression and substance use. Multivariate analyses indicated that the prevalence of resilience was uniquely predicted by participant gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, level of trauma exposure, income change, social support, frequency of chronic disease, and recent and past life stressors.

Review: As we face different natural disasters and stressful situations along our life, it is important to have knowledge about how can we promote resilience. This study underlies different implications for future research and interventions in this area. The most interesting implications of this study is to re-think about how we define resilience. The article explains the importance of including sociocontextual factors as variables that might potentially inform resilience outcomes after a disaster. Some examples mentioned in the manuscript are: family interactions, community support services and interactions.