What I’m working on:
I’m working on a book that tells the story of sickle cell disease in India, Nigeria, and the U.S. It’s a project I began three years ago while working as an editor at National Geographic. Support from the inaugural Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award and a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship funded research in these three countries. That reporting provided the foundation for the book, which will be published by Henry Holt. So, it is sickle cell every minute, every hour, every day.
Where I work:
I live in Washington, DC, and work in my attic. It is a lovely, bright room decorated with my children’s artwork. I’m sentimental so I refuse to take any of it down, even though both kids will be in college next year.
Daily routine:
Nothing happens without two cups—one immediately after the other—of PG Tips masala tea made with my mum’s homemade tea masala and almost two teaspoons of freshly grated ginger. Then toast with orange marmalade (no, I am not Paddington Bear). After this power breakfast the work can commence.
I usually break for lunch around 1:00. I do more research than writing in the afternoon, unless I’m on a streak. If I’m not doing research, then I’m sifting through transcripts and trying to figure out the structure of various chapters. Tea again at 4:00. Then continue to work on structure.
(The caveat to all of this is that I’ve had to travel so much for this book that maintaining a regular schedule has been very difficult. And being a member of the sandwich generation complicates everything further. . . . But that is another discussion.)
Most productive part of my day:
Mornings are best. I can get a lot of writing done between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Most essential ritual or habit:
Tea. NPR during breakfast. PBS NewsHour at dinner time.
Favorite note-taking techniques/tools:
I am dyslexic and rely heavily on recording all my interviews, which I then feed into Otter.ai to transcribe. In addition, I carry either a chemistry lab notebook—the same type I used in organic chemistry—or a little teal notebook with a cover that is waterproof, to write observations as I’m interviewing my sources. I also rely heavily on my iPhone to take photos and video, particularly if I’m reporting in a place that is too chaotic to sit down and write. I label notebooks in colored masking tape—a tip from my sister—so I know which notebook is for which project/location. I also carry several colored highlighters and write in a range of colors because that’s how my brain remembers.
How I keep track of my to-do list:
I’m old school. I have an 8-by-11 planner (Tools of Wisdom is the brand) that I buy every year and keep on my desk. I like this because I record all my trips and appointments and interview times in this book—and I can color code everything. I also tend to jot down random numbers, thoughts, and my daily to-do list. The cool thing (IMHO) is that I can look back at this log to find info, sometimes years later, if that material never made it into my notebooks.
Essential software/apps/productivity tools:
Otter for transcriptions. Evernote for filing all my web clips, PDFs, photos, and even interview recordings. I am paranoid about losing interviews, so I like to have them in several locations as backup. Scrivener is what I use to write. The Voice Record Pro app on my iPhone is how I record interviews as well as my Zoom H1n Handy Recorder (that is what it’s called). I am a Mac girl, but I do rely on Outlook for email because it can color code senders.
Favorite time waster/procrastination habit:
I don’t regard gardening as procrastination so much as creating beautiful spaces for pollinators. (How’s that for a good justification?) And weeding is a great way for me to totally disengage or ponder things when I get stuck, or bored, writing.
My reading habits:
Because I’m a glacial reader I tend to focus on nonfiction books or articles connected to whatever I am working on. So right now, almost everything I read is related to sickle cell. I generally prefer dead trees that I can annotate with a highlighter or pencil. For news or feature articles, I use my phone or laptop so I can change the settings and make things easier to read. There is little “fun” reading these days because the news is depressing, but I did pick up Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds, which I look forward to reading after the news and before falling asleep.
Sleep schedule:
My husband says that my greatest superpower is that I can fall asleep within a couple of minutes and stay out for a minimum of seven hours. That’s true. Unless I’m panicked and writing on deadline, I generally go to sleep at 11:00 or 12:00 and wake up around 7:30 or 8:00. That’s not interesting or quirky, but it does the job.