Abby Alten Schwartz
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.
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
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
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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