Mindy Shah

Certified Listener Poet,
Cohort 1 Fall 2021

Mindy Shah grew up near the shores of Lake Erie, in Ohio, and spent much of her childhood tramping around the woods and writing stories she seldom finished. After starting a career in creative writing, an experience of being a patient herself led her to change direction; she completed a postbaccalaureate premedical program at Bryn Mawr College and went on to study medicine, ultimately training in internal medicine, geriatrics, and hospice and palliative medicine.

Mindy lives in Wisconsin with her spouse and daughter. She works full time in medicine alongside her work with TGLP.

Mindy's Poems
The Beacon poem - Listener Poet Geva Thole - The Good Listening Project - 2025.02.19.png
Ravenna Raven
The Beacon
Ravenna Raven

“I’ve experienced a lot of big losses,” she said, referencing the passing of a grandfather and two uncles who did not survive their cancer diagnoses. “There were others too.”

Ravenna Raven
Hidden Figures - Listener Poet Yvette Perry - The Good Listening Project - 2025.1.29 copy.png
Ravenna Raven
Hidden Figures
Ravenna Raven

Professionally, Lacks’ story represents for her the need to critically examine our research infrastructure generally. “We need to pay more attention to the sustainability of research,” she explained. “Private companies benefit from publicly-funded research without a requirement to give back to ensure the viability of future research.”

Ravenna Raven
Mirror Talk poem - Listener Poet Gray Davidson Carroll - The Good Listening Project - February 2025 copy.jpg
Ravenna Raven
Mirror Talk
Ravenna Raven

“The fact of my life is a miracle,” she told me. Living with multiple chronic illnesses, this patient spoke to me of her journey with alopecia. Of how, in witnessing her body transformed by the condition, she continues to move at once through grief and reclamation.

Ravenna Raven