Rituals, anthropologists will tell us, are about transformation. The rituals we use for marriage, baptism or inaugurating a … - Abraham Verghese

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I want to say that of course I want my writing to be read and discussed by as many people as possible, but this is different than wanting personal, "celebrity"-like attention. I'm very introverted and sensitive and dislike being talked about, positively or negatively.

Abraham Verghese

Rituals, anthropologists will tell us, are about transformation. The rituals we use for marriage, baptism or inaugurating a president are as elaborate as they are because we associate the ritual with a major life passage, the crossing of a critical threshold, or in other words, with transformation.

Baptism, Passage, President, Ritual, Use

Same Author Quotes

No matter what ailed you, you went to see the barber surgeon who wound up cupping you, bleeding you, purging you. And, oh yes, if you wanted, he would give you a haircut and pull your tooth while he was at it.

Ailed, Bleeding, Giving, Matter, Teeth, Wound

I love to read poetry but I haven't written anything that I'm willing to show anybody.

Love, Love To Read, Poetry, Shows, Willing, Written

I think we can see how blessed we are in America to have access to the kind of health care we do if we are insured, and even if uninsured, how there is a safety net. Now, as to the problem of how much health care costs and how we reform health care. . . it is another story altogether.

America, Blessed, Insured, Problem, Thinking

By visiting patients in their home, by helping them come to terms with their illness, I could heal when I could not cure.

Cure, Helping, Home, Patient, Patients

We're losing a ritual. We're losing a ritual that I believe is transformative, transcendent, and is at the heart of the patient-physician relationship.

Believe, Inspiration, Losing, Motivation, Ritual, Transcendent