Acclaimed poet and journalist Tom Sleigh will join Columbia University’s monthly Narrative Medical Rounds this October 14 on Zoom. The series is held by the Division of Narrative Medicine in the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

The event is entitled “Rosie: A Memoir of Farewell: A Personal Account of Medical Aid in Dying,” and will feature a conversation with Sleigh moderated by Dr. Michael Nalepa, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and Medical Co-Director of Columbia’s Palliative Care Admit Team (PCAT). 

Sleigh’s most recent book, Rosie: A Memoir of Farewell (Unbound Edition Press, 2026), excavates the complex legacy of his mother Rosie from the vantage of her assisted death at age 97. Sleigh weaves together her journal entries, family photographs, and his award-winning poetry to create a portrait that is simultaneously heartbreaking and darkly comic. The memoir is accompanied by a short film series by Ed Robbins, which features ten vignettes and four poem readings from the book.

This is a virtual event held on Zoom. Please click here to register.