By D.W. Brooks, author of Homecoming Chaos.

D.W. Brooks is an Author, Physician, and Kidney Transplant Survivor.

I often say that I spent way too much time in school. I went to college, medical school, and business school. That doesn’t count my internship and residency either. That’s a lot of education. If you look at my work trajectory, it seemed like I had a solid plan for my career. And I did from age 11 until age 26. Then, my trajectory got a bit muddled, and my career path got very rocky…

My first proper career choice when I was 8 or 9 years old was to become an author. My cousins and I created half-finished books filled with characters, friendships, and relationships. Sadly, we were not well-versed in plotting or pacing. Usually, halfway through each book, we had run out of story and ended up with a lot of incomplete “manuscripts”. Despite our failures, being a writer seemed like a reasonable career choice until I learned that earning an income was not a guarantee. Hmmm…

But two years later, my uncle graduated from medical school. My father thought it was important that I see the full range of opportunities that might await me in the future, and that I see women could be doctors, too. He asked his brother for tickets to the main events, but because of my age (11), my uncle had to work extra hard to get permission for me to attend. He was successful, and we all drove to Wisconsin. During the graduation dinner, I met an aspiring neurosurgeon named Elizabeth Luck. While the other future physicians celebrated and chatted with other adults at the venue, she sat and talked to me. She explained to me why she wanted to be a physician and what she hoped to do.

I was enthralled. I wanted to do that too. I spent the next portion of my life working towards that goal—although I switched from neurosurgeon to ophthalmologist along the way. I got into my first-choice medical school. I was well on my way…

…Until my last year in medical school. Universal health care was the major topic in medicine (dating myself), and I didn’t understand what this was about. I went to business school after I completed my residency to better understand the business of medicine. I completed an Executive MBA while I was on faculty at the University of Alabama in Birmingham Ophthalmology Department. From there, I planned to get a job in hospital administration with the MBA, but it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be. After graduation, I quit my job at the hospital and looked for an administration position more intently. But I had a new career appear on my radar through a simple phone call.

I had a friend that was in medical school who I hadn’t talked to for quite a while. I called him to see how school was going. He mentioned he had just spoken to a doctor who asked if he knew any doctors who might want to work for a new company called WebMD. He called her and told her about me. Happily, she called me right away. Within two weeks, I had a position with WebMD as a medical editor, which opened an alternative career path for me.

I did get back into practice for a year when we moved to Texas after my kids were born, but my main career path was medical editing. I worked for a medical education company, creating medical education programs for doctors and nurses for several years. After that job ended, I then started doing the same work as a freelancer. As a freelancer, I was able to spend more time with my children than I could while working for an employer.

Unfortunately, my kidneys started to fail in 2012. My health had declined so significantly that I went on disability and then on to dialysis. My relationship with my children changed, too. Since I couldn’t do many things, my children had to help more, which was a definite shift in the parent-child relationship. During this transition, I started writing again since I was spending a lot of time in bed; writing was a good way to use my time. Which led to Homecoming Chaos.

But I put the manuscript down once I received my transplant. Recovering was a job, too. Six months after my surgery, my mother passed away, and my father moved from Alabama to Texas to live with us. I spent two years helping care for him, so Homecoming Chaos just sat on my computer. Occasionally I would think about it, but I was too busy to do anything with it.

Then, the pandemic hit…

Once everything opened again, I felt like I needed to find something safe as I was immunocompromised. The manuscript called my name, and I reread it, wondering if I could do anything with it. I decided to find out…That journey has led me here with the November launch of Homecoming Chaos and plans for future books and a career in writing.

So, my career path is a circle. But this is where I should be.

D.W. Brooks is the author of Homecoming Chaos.