About Donna Sidwell DeGracia
Donna Sidwell DeGracia is a retired physician assistant and an educator whose life and work have taken her from distant corners of the globe to intimate conversations about aspects of life that patients may not have shared with anyone else. Sometimes it is her own experiences as a patient, or as one acculturating to a new culture, that give her the insight needed for difficult conversations. As an educator, she is adept at breaking difficult topics into easily understood components.
Her writings reflect her experience and perspective as well as the humility of one who has had the honor of walking with others through their pain. She recognizes both the need for and the fragility of hope as well as the difficult task of re-establishing or reconstructing hope that is lost.
Her life has been a full one. When people have suggested that she write a book about her own life, her response is always, “No one would believe it.” That complex personal story provides a plethora of material that she laughingly refers to as “field research” as well as a unique perspective that is reflected in her work.