rachel naomi remen, m.d. is clinical professor of family and community medicine at the ucsf school of medicine, the medical director of the commonweal cancer help program, and the director and founder of the institute for the study of health and illness at commonweal. she is the author of the new york times bestseller kitchen table wisdom: stories that heal, riverhead books, 1996, and national bestseller my grandfather's blessings: stories of strength, refuge and belonging, riverhead books, 2000.