Monroe resident pens e-book detailing traumatic doctor interactions

Visiting the doctor’s office can be a stressful situation under any circumstance. You have to disrobe and then wait in a cold, tiny room, hoping that you can adequately convey your medical needs in the few minutes you get with your actual doctor. But for some people, the trauma cuts deeper. Monroe resident Jacqueline Lisella, 28, wants people to know they are not alone in that trauma. In her first e-book, “Doctor Experiences: Consent and other priorities” Lisella relays some of her own bad experiences at the doctor’s office, and offers some guidance on how we as a society can improve the doctor-patient relationship, particularly when the patient’s past experiences have resulted in distrust of the medical industry.

Lisella, a Class of 2013 graduate of Monroe-Woodbury High School, said it was the #MetToo movement that inspired her to write the book. While the phrase was originally coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, it took off on social media in 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano and other celebrities shared their stories of sexual abuse on their social media platforms. Countless men and women then came forward to share their own stories, using the hashtag “MeToo.”

“I was inspired by the #Metoo movement, and how many other women have shared their bad experiences with their doctor,” Lisella explained. “I feel that going to the doctor should be empowering, and a partnership ... everyone goes to the doctor, but if their doctor is very forceful, and don’t care how they treat a patient, it can have negative effects, and can lead to traumas and not trusting doctors.”

She hopes her book will show just how commonplace it is for people to have bad experiences at the doctor’s office, and encourage readers to be their own healthcare advocates.

The e-book can currently be downloaded through Barnes & Noble for $5 at the following link: bit.ly/4ampvmy.

While this is Lisella’s first book, she does have plans to continue writing and also sings and writes original songs that can be found on YouTube and Facebook. For more on Lisella, follow her on social media at facebook.com/misses.lisella or @superstarzsingerz on YouTube or Instagram.