life rattle show no. 1274

Presented on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Hosted by laurie kallis

featuring

"The Unit"
and
"Rose"

by Meera Jayarajan

tonight's Show

Tonight’s show, Life Rattle Number 1274, features two stories by new Life Rattle writer Meera Jayarajan.

Meera Jayarajan was born on the first day of spring in 1980 in Toronto, Ontario. The elder of two sisters, she was raised in the suburbs of Aurora by her parents, both of whom had emigrated from India in the early 1970s. After finishing high school, Meera knew exactly what direction she was headed in. She graduated from McMaster University with an Honours Degree in Arts and Science, and then went on to complete a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Ottawa.

Since graduating in 2010, Meera has been enjoying a fast-paced life, working in the emergency department at various hospitals in Toronto. She continuously seeks adventures and new stories, and has extensively travelled the world, backpacking and volunteering abroad in shelters, hospitals and orphanages. Meera spends much time with her family and friends, and enjoys a good night out filled with dining, drinking and dancing. She expresses herself through her singing, guitar playing, pottery classes, cooking and, of course, her poetry and writing.

With cool, precise prose, Meera brings us deep into a world that few of us experience firsthand. She brings us inside the white jacket of a medical practitioner. She doesn’t tell us what it is like to bear the weight of responsibility for human lives. Her stories entrench you into the experience, both psychologically and physically.

Tonight’s first story, "The Unit," details the gruelling twelve-hour shift of a resident, the ninth of eighteen work days in a row—a test of endurance that seems impossible.

Our second story, "Rose," brutal and provocative, invokes an overwhelming sense of powerlessness as a doctor faces a young patient with a very bleak future.

Please note: tonight’s stories include intense situations. Parental discretion is advised.