Abby Alten Schwartz

Photo by Jim Wright

Journalist. Essayist. Memoirist.

Abby Alten Schwartz is a Philadelphia writer whose essays and reported stories explore a variety of topics, including parenting, relationships, health & wellness, humor and creative living. Abby’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, HuffPost, WIRED, Salon, AARP, Scary Mommy, and elsewhere. Her literary writing has won Best Creative Nonfiction and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Abby's memoir-in-progress is about her journey from hypervigilance to trust.

Photo by Jim Wright

Journalist. Essayist. Memoirist.

Abby Alten Schwartz is a Philadelphia writer whose essays and reported stories explore a variety of topics including parenting, relationships, health & wellness, humor and creative living. Abby’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, HuffPost, WIRED, Scary Mommy, Salon, and elsewhere. She is writing a memoir about her journey from hypervigilance to trust.

Abby Alten Schwartz

Photo by Jim Wright

Journalist. Essayist. Memoirist.

Abby Alten Schwartz is a Philadelphia writer whose essays and reported stories explore a variety of topics, including parenting, relationships, health & wellness, humor and creative living. Abby’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, HuffPost, WIRED, Salon, AARP, Scary Mommy, and elsewhere. Her literary writing has won Best Creative Nonfiction and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Abby's memoir-in-progress is about her journey from hypervigilance to trust.

I rely on written words to create order in my life. On paper, my thoughts line up obediently, no longer tumbling inside my head like clothes in a dryer.

I rely on written words to create order in my life. On paper, my thoughts line up obediently, no longer tumbling inside my head like clothes in a dryer.

I rely on written words to create order in my life. On paper, my thoughts line up obediently, no longer tumbling inside my head like clothes in a dryer.

Hypervigilant

A Memoir of Uncertainty, Intuition, and Hope

How do you build a meaningful life with a time bomb ticking—when every birthday brings your child closer to a cure or to an untimely death?

My daughter was almost two when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease that progressively destroys the lungs. “The good news is the life expectancy for someone with CF is almost 31 years,” her pediatrician said. My husband and I sat in stunned silence. I was 31 at the time.

Throughout Sammie’s childhood, I constantly scanned the horizon for danger—from lung infections to drug shortages to politicians hell-bent on reversing the laws protecting her access to healthcare. I never anticipated I’d become her biggest threat.

By the time Sammie graduated high school, her lung function in decline, two of my friends had lost daughters to CF. I began micromanaging her care, interrogating her relentlessly, even digging through the garbage late at night for evidence she’d taken her meds. As Sammie’s condition worsened, my behavior spiraled. I became so obsessed with saving her life, I nearly destroyed our relationship.

HYPERVIGILANT is a kaleidoscopic medical memoir that ripples outward from the personal to examine the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, the otherness of chronic illness, and the repercussions of incessant worry. At a time when anxiety is high and parenting is more challenging than ever, my story offers a roadmap to navigating uncertainty while holding fast to hope.

Hypervigilant

A Memoir

How do you build a meaningful life with a time bomb ticking—when every birthday brings your child closer to a cure and to an untimely death?

My daughter was almost two when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease that progressively destroys the lungs. “The good news is the life expectancy for someone with CF is almost 31 years,” her pediatrician said. My husband and I sat in stunned silence. I was 31 at the time.

Throughout Sammie’s childhood, I constantly scanned the horizon for danger—from lung infections to drug shortages to politicians hell-bent on reversing the laws protecting her access to healthcare. I never anticipated I’d become her biggest threat.

By the time Sammie graduated high school, her lung function in decline, two of my friends had lost daughters to CF. I began micromanaging her care, interrogating her relentlessly, even digging through the garbage late at night for evidence she’d taken her meds. As Sammie’s condition worsened, my behavior spiraled. I became so obsessed with saving her life, I nearly destroyed our relationship.

HYPERVIGILANT is a kaleidoscopic medical memoir that ripples outward from the personal to examine the complexity of wellness, the otherness of chronic illness, and the repercussions of incessant worry. At a time when anxiety is high and the world feels out of control, my story offers a roadmap to navigating uncertainty while holding fast to hope.

Hypervigilant

A Memoir of Uncertainty, Intuition, and Hope

How do you build a meaningful life with a time bomb ticking—when every birthday brings your child closer to a cure or to an untimely death?

My daughter was almost two when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease that progressively destroys the lungs. “The good news is the life expectancy for someone with CF is almost 31 years,” her pediatrician said. My husband and I sat in stunned silence. I was 31 at the time.

Throughout Sammie’s childhood, I constantly scanned the horizon for danger—from lung infections to drug shortages to politicians hell-bent on reversing the laws protecting her access to healthcare. I never anticipated I’d become her biggest threat.

By the time Sammie graduated high school, her lung function in decline, two of my friends had lost daughters to CF. I began micromanaging her care, interrogating her relentlessly, even digging through the garbage late at night for evidence she’d taken her meds. As Sammie’s condition worsened, my behavior spiraled. I became so obsessed with saving her life, I nearly destroyed our relationship.

HYPERVIGILANT is a kaleidoscopic medical memoir that ripples outward from the personal to examine the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, the otherness of chronic illness, and the repercussions of incessant worry. At a time when anxiety is high and parenting is more challenging than ever, my story offers a roadmap to navigating uncertainty while holding fast to hope.

Published Writing

Published Writing

Visual Portfolio, Posts & Image Gallery for WordPress

My Daughter Wasn't Expected To Live Past 31. A New Drug Saved Her — But There's 1 Big Catch

Being one of the lucky ones comes with responsibility. I’m profoundly grateful to the scientists who likely saved my daughter. I also know it could’ve just as easily been her receiving posthumous birthday wishes. Every age she reaches that my friends’ girls never will is a blessing and a gut-punch.

For Years, I Feared That I’d Outlive My Daughter. And Then Science Did Something Amazing.

My daughter was almost two when we learned she had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that progressively destroys the lungs. “The good news is the life expectancy for someone with CF is almost 31 years,” her pediatrician said. My husband and I sat in stunned silence. I was 31 at the time.

For Caregivers, a Friend Who ‘Gets It’ Can Be a Lifeline

Val, another cystic fibrosis mom, is my person, my anchor. My safe place to vent frustrations, unpack my worries and, occasionally, fall apart. Within our friendship bubble, we can parade our neuroses and relieve our stress with gallows humor — unfiltered, unashamed. What we provide each other is as vital as breath.

You’ve Always Managed Their Health Issues. How to Let Your Teen Take Over

Managing a child’s chronic illness can be all-consuming for parents. Then, after years of being in control, parents must hand off those responsibilities to their teenager.

"True Grit" is a Christmas movie for me

The original film “True Grit” had a role in launching my dad’s career in advertising and a lifelong bond he and I shared. Design was a language my dad and I spoke fluently. We bonded over elegant typography and an appreciation for white space on the page.

Why Watching Decluttering Videos Feels So Good

Watching a stranger masterfully fold a pile of shirts into neat, vertical bundles or transfer snacks from store-bought packaging to clear, acrylic containers with pretty labels is my guilty pleasure—my oasis of calm. It turns out there’s a neurological reason I’m so hooked.

I Have 'The Office' to Thank for Saving My Relationship with My Daughter

When my daughter moved home from college, I loved having her back but we bickered often, my nitpicking out of control. Then a ceasefire came from an unexpected source: Netflix.

Winter Sunshine

My dad was the first love of my life, the one who loved me unconditionally and believed in me before I ever believed in myself. “Winter Sunshine” is my Modern Love/Tiny Love Story about following in his professional footsteps and how sharing the creative side of his life bonded us in an unbreakable way.

I Never Thought I Could Be Scammed ... Until I Was

The fraud alert from PayPal read: “Here’s your invoice. Due on receipt. $1069.69.” It appeared authentic. Still, I knew to log in directly to my account. There it was—an invoice from a company I’d never heard of. That's when I made a huge mistake.

More Published Writing

More Published Writing

Business Insider – When We Got Married, We Decided to Keep Separate Credit Cards. It’s Kept Us from Fighting About Money for Over 30 Years
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone – Downhill All the Way
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 
– How I Learned to Let Go as a Parent of a Child with CF
Fauxmoir Lit Mag Not Wrong
Green Briar Review – Letters to Myself
Hippocampus Magazine – And You Finally Get Why Adrenaline Junkies Chase This Rush (Runner Up: 2024 We Love Short Shorts Contest)
Next Avenue
My Mother Cooked Gluten-Free for My Daughter and Finally Fed Me
NextTribe My “Hunger Games” Approach to My Almost Empty Nest
Reader’s Digest (UK) –
How Science Is Helping People With Cystic Fibrosis
Salt Water – How to Keep Him Alive
SugarSugarSalt Magazine – Salt
The Belladonna Comedy Daily Itinerary of a Person Determined to Achieve “New Year, New You”
The Citron Review You Still Wouldn’t Trade It For Another Lap Around

The Manifest-Station – Permission to Speak
The New York Times – Tiny Love Stories: An Immovable Feast

The Seattle Times – Where Coffee is King, Meet the Man Transforming Coffee Dregs into Art
The Washington Post – Babesiosis, a Dangerous Tick-borne Infection That Attacks Red Blood Cells, Appears to be a Growing Problem
Unbroken Journal – My Muse is a Slippery Bitch
Unlimited Literature – How to Keep Him Alive (1st Place: Creative Nonfiction Contest; Best of the Net Nominee: Many Nice Donkeys)
WIRED – How to Get Great Tech Support—from Home

Brevity Blog:
Distillation: My Secret Sauce to Storytelling
Five Ways Writing Has Infiltrated My Life
Is This the Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy?
You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth
A Beach Blanket Brainstorm (for Writers)
My Dark Passenger: The Secret Torment of a Writer
Thinking Like an Art Director Can Make You a Better Writer

HAD:
Salt
We Never Got to Watch Carol Brady Grow Older (Pushcart Prize Nominee)

HuffPost:
How ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Has Made My Marriage Stronger
This Is The Last Dog We’ll Ever Own. Here’s What He’s Taught Me About Love

Little Old Lady Comedy:
Burn, Baby, Burn: 10 Things from Your Gen X Childhood That Prepared You for the Hellscape of Menopause
Cocktails for Toasting the End of Civilization

The Well by Northwell (selected bylines):
Confessions Of An (Almost) Empty Nester
Cystic Fibrosis: A Breakthrough Treatment
My Advice For Making Marriage Last
A Parent’s Guide to Empty Nest Syndrome
7 Tips To Push Past Procrastination

How To Discuss Death With A Sick Loved One
When Your Parent Needs You As A Caregiver
5 Healthy Habits Of Modern Married Couples
What I Wish You Knew About Caring For A Parent

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