Leslie Jamison

In this week's New Yorker, an excerpt from SPLINTERS. I brought everything I could to this story. Here it is. newyorker.com/magazine/2024/…

“When I entered Gaza the Israeli military had a rule: I was only allowed to bring in three kilos of food. As I was weighing out protein bars, trying to get under the limit, I said to my husband: ‘How sinister is this?’ I’m a humanitarian aid worker. Why would there even be a limit on food? I’ve worked in many places with extreme hunger, but what’s so jarring in this context is how cruel it is, how deliberate. I was in Gaza for two months; there’s no way to describe the horror of what’s happening. And I say this as a pediatric ICU doctor who sees children die as part of my work. Among our own staff we have doctors and nurses who are trying to treat patients while hungry, exhausted. They’re living in tents. Some of them have lost fifteen, twenty members of their families. In the hospital there are kids maimed by airstrikes: missing arms, missing legs, third degree burns. Often there’s not enough pain medication. But the children are not screaming about the pain, they’re screaming: ‘I’m hungry! I’m hungry!” I hate to only focus on the kids, because nobody should be starving. But the kids, it just haunts you in a different way. When my two months were finished, I didn’t want to leave. It’s a feeling I haven’t experienced in nearly twenty years of humanitarian assignments. But I felt ashamed. Ashamed to leave my Palestinian colleagues, who were some of the most beautiful and compassionate people that I’ve ever met. I was ashamed as an American, as a human being, that we’ve been unable to stop something that is so clearly a genocide. I remember when our bus pulled out of the buffer zone. Out the window on one side I could see Rafah, which was nothing but rubble. On the other side was lush, green Israel. When we exited the gate, the first thing I saw was a group of Israeli soldiers, sitting at a table, eating lunch. I’ve never felt so nauseous seeing a table full of food.” ------------------------------------------------------- Aqsa Durrani is a pediatric doctor and board member of Doctors Without Borders USA, with nearly twenty years of experience in humanitarian projects. During our interview Aqsa repeatedly expressed a desire to center the voices of her Palestinian colleagues. To this end I’ve spent the past week collecting stories from the Palestinian staff of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. I will be sharing these stories over the next several days. I’m so grateful for the time that these people gave me; they were sleepless, hungry, traumatized, and often working 24-hour shifts. Because of the unreliable internet connection their images are sometimes grainy. Their words, however, will be crystal clear.

Hard not to experience this as an utter loss of faith in humanity. Stopping this is the only thing that matters. And yet we fail at it every day.

@imankhusain Iman!! Thank you for your rigorous checking. (Where, truth be told, we *do* expect something close to perfection...) here's to reform lol!

What a pleasure to fact check this piece! (It was also a form of therapy.) Every perfectionist—active or reformed—should read it. 🌺

"According to Hewitt, this is one thing that distinguishes true perfectionism from a mere pursuit of excellence: reaching the goal never helps, whether it’s a top grade, a target weight, or a professional milestone." @lsjamison @NewYorker newyorker.com/magazine/2025/…

.@lsjamison considers the idea of perfectionism, which is regarded by many as a form of admirable striving, as she spends time with two professors who have devoted their careers to exploring the trait’s links to depression, eating disorders, and suicide. nyer.cm/Y2UP6Ut

@marykarrlit Beauty!!!!!! Would kill to share a dance floor with you Mary xx

The band at my beautiful (inside and out) niece’s wedding this week was so baller nobody could be dragged off the dance floor…. Congrats #DaniAndStephen from grumpy old Aunt Mary

A new @NewYorker piece about perfectionism, rug weavers, self-conscious subway reading, messy therapy, & the superego as a "vicious soliloquist w/ an audience of one." newyorker.com/magazine/2025/…

A new essay ❤️‍🔥 This one was a true joy, and a long time in the living and the making. On Disneyland, photo-mercantalism, churros, putting pressure on our kids to be happy, Space Mountain & the uses of fantasy. vqronline.org/spring-2025/es…

@BetsyTurnsBase ❤️

Treasure!

Does @JamiesonWebster want you to have nightmares? At April Second Sundays, the psychoanalyst spoke to novelist Leslie Jamison (@lsjamison) about breathing and dreaming through catastrophe. youtu.be/s1JxQiZFpAE?fe…

Two of my absolute favorite humans ❤️‍🔥

On Friday night, we walked the length of Manhattan, from Inwood Hill to Battery Park. New Yorkers deserve a Mayor they can see, hear, even yell at. The city is in the streets.

Join us in Toronto on Monday, September 15 at the @ROMtoronto for a flagship literary event with 2025 #WestonInternationalAward laureate, Leslie Jamison. Purchase your tickets now: westoninternationalaward.com/event/ Event recording to follow.

How different the past years might’ve been if @mayawiley was our Mayor. No corruption, pettiness and collaboration with the Trump regime. Just principled, progressive leadership focused on results. I was so honored to receive Maya’s #1 rank endorsement this morning in Harlem.

Congratulations to 2025 Weston International Award winner Leslie Jamison. “If nonfiction at its best pursues both truth and beauty, this author demonstrates the art of writing out of our lives at the highest level.” —#WestonInternationalAward Canadian jury westoninternationalaward.com/2025-award/

✨Beyond honored✨ All my Canadian farmer ancestors would be thrilled 🍁❤️‍🔥 westoninternationalaward.com/2025-award/

❤️‍🔥⚡️NEW YORKERS PLEASE VOTE! WE NEED ZOHRAN LIKE OXYGEN ⚡️❤️‍🔥

@lsjamison has won the 2025 Weston International Award, honoring her extraordinary body of nonfiction work. Her writing redefines the genre through vulnerability, intellect & insight. Congratulations to Leslie! Catch her live in Toronto this fall: westoninternationalaward.com/event