Floating.

Childhood memories of falling, fleeing, and floating serve as metaphors for grieving a mother's death in a narrative medicine essay.

• Why it matters: Understanding personal metaphors of grief can deepen empathy and insight into the emotional experiences of healthcare providers and patients facing loss.
• What they did: An infectious diseases physician reflects on childhood experiences through a narrative essay, using metaphors of falling, fleeing, and floating to explore her grief.
• The result: This storytelling approach highlights how personal metaphors can facilitate emotional processing and offer a nuanced perspective on grief in medical contexts.