Vibrant Life by Jennifer Margulis

Articles

I'm Learning and I Will Continue to Learn

1 week ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

I recently met a medical doctor named Xavier Curiel. I don’t know very much about him. I do know that he’s a deeply thoughtful, spiritual, and well-read man. I have had three sessions with Dr. Curiel. I have learned more in those three sessions than I have in many years and tens of thousands of dollars worth of therapy. During our second session Dr. Curiel said that everything in the universe has an order, and everything in life has an order. If that order is disrupted we loose our place.
Long Overdue Update About My Health

1 month ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

To my amazing and wonderful (and sometimes ridiculous) readers on this amazing and wonderful (and sometimes ridiculous) platform,I haven’t been able to send you updates about this delicious battle I am having with metastatic melanoma. In my liver! In my spleen! ⬅ Chant this to the tune of your favorite song. When I was pregnant with my third child, I biked with my two toddlers in the bike trailer and we went up enormous hills.
Truly Informed Consent (For Me Anyway)

1 month ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

Doctors are supposed to give patients informed consent. Informed consent is the process that should take place between patients and their doctors during which the patient is told **all** of the relevant information about the risks and benefits of any given medical procedure or treatment. Before the patient signs a consent form, the doctor is ethically responsible for making sure the patient is aware of not only the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment, but also the alternatives.
Things Have a Way of Working Out

1 month ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

Discover more from Vibrant LifeScience, Health, Medicine, Biology, Radiant Living, and LifeOver 21,000 subscribersBy subscribing, I agree to Substack's Terms of Use, and acknowledge its Information Collection Notice and Privacy Policy. Two weeks ago, my dear friend and colleague, writer Michelle O’Neil, sent a version of this newsletter to her readers. She (and her daughter Riley) generously gave me permission to reprint it here. My daughter Riley is 24 and on the spectrum.
Plagued by Migraines, my Husband Found a Cure

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

When we were 30 and just having our first child, my husband woke up one day nauseous, light sensitive, feeling like his head was about to explode. “Did you ever see that movie in the ‘70s, Scanners?” he asked. “That’s how my head feels, like it’s going to burst from the inside. I wonder if the drill through the forehead would help? It didn’t seem to for the guy in the movie.”We realized that he was having his first migraine.
Planting Seeds

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

When I was a graduate student at Emory University, I decided we should invite Salman Rushdie to speak. One of my favorite things about academia was the fascinating people who would come share their genius and ideas. I was part of a group of grad students who had funding to bring in academics, literary critics, philosophers, and authors to give public lectures.
What a Stranger’s Dog Taking a Poo at the Pool Taught Me About Myself

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

“I’m George,” a burly man with a black ponytail and a bald spot on top of his head crushed my fingers in a firm handshake, “and that’s ’Roo.” The man gestured to a jet-black long-snouted dog whose tail was wagging as fast as windshield wipers in a downpour. “He loves to swim!” George said as ’Roo flung himself into the water and paddled towards a bright yellow floating toy. We were at the pool adjacent to the neighborhood rec center.
5 Things Hippies Keep in Their Bathrooms

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

Flower children. Nonconformists. Crunchy mamas. I’ve heard some people refer to them as the great unwashed. We don’t use the word hippie as much as we used to. But for my purposes today, let’s all agree that a hippie is someone who throws convention, mainstream values, and McDonald’s out the window in favor of going barefoot and braless; eating slow-cooked organically grown food; and promoting peace, love, and ganja over profits, Porsches, and groupthink. Hold on.
My Friend Had a Nervous Breakdown

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

“Sorry I haven’t been in touch,” the text message from my friend Justin* read. “I had a mental breakdown and I’ve been in the hospital.”Justin? In the hospital? Wait. What? Justin is one of my most together and successful friends. He’s so fit and good-looking and color coordinated that he always looks like he just stepped away from a photo shoot for GQ. He’s one of those men who gets more handsome as he ages, with salt and pepper hair that makes him look distinguished.
Military Dismissed Over COVID-19 Vaccines Will Get Their Jobs Back

2 months ago | jennifermargulis.substack.com | Jennifer Margulis

Good news for service members who were dismissed from the military for exercising their religious, medical, or philosophical freedom and refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. President Trump has said that he will sign an executive order today—Monday, January 27, 2025—to reinstate them with full back pay and benefits.