By Reena Anjalie Bhatt, MD

Growing up in Kansas as a shy, awkward child of immigrants, I found respite in the expansive and elaborate worlds of science fiction and became an avid reader after diving into Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. I found quirky friends in the characters, unexplored adventures in the post-apocalyptic lands, and a muse for my own written self-expression. The eloquence and political machinations of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and later Pierce Brown’s humorous Red Rising inspired me to pursue writing as a means to share my own personal active imagination. Lately, as a busy hand surgeon, general plastic surgeon, athlete, and mom, in a “Covid” world, I sometimes feel like I am living through a sci-fi novel. Nonetheless, there is a macrocosm of strange creatures, twisting plots, and bewildering timelines bouncing about in my head. Writing my own science fiction novel tops my bucket list, but I’ll settle for keeping everyone healthy and safe.