Voices

About the Book

In a sparsely furnished office, a family physician sits waiting for his patients. None come for judgment. A few come for advice. But all ask simply to be heard

Some come once and are never seen again. Others return repeatedly as they struggle to resolve the challenges confronting them. Some are successful and some are not. Some leave triumphant; others in despair.

Dr. Hahn’s career spans three decades and thousands of miles. During this sojourn, he has worked in big city emergency rooms, tertiary care intensive care units, jails, an Indian hospital, a small rural hospital, nursing homes and a small town office.

His patients have come from all walks of life and every station. Their stories are many, varied, and deeply moving. VOICES captures in ink the thoughts and feelings of men and women struggling to be heard, to wrest meaning from their lives and to cope with life’s imponderable misfortunes. When people open up their hearts and let us glimpse, ever so briefly, their souls, we hear their voices.

Dr. Hahn was born in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts and was raised in Vineland, New Jersey. His father was the town’s obstetrician and his mother was a nurse. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in sociology anthropology, he moved to New York City to attend Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (1973- 1977). He then attended the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital’s family practice residency program in Galveston (1977-1980).

In 1980, he joined the Indian Health Service and was stationed at Cherokee, North Carolina. In 1984, he moved to Lenoir City, Tennessee to start a private practice. Since 2001, he has been the medical director of the Lenoir City office of Cherokee Health System, an organization which provides integrated care (behavioral/medical) to rural east Tennesseans.

In 1991, he started a battered women’s program which was expanded in 2006 to include a homeless shelter for women and children (Iva’s Place). Dr. Hahn lives with his wife, Dr. Heather O’Brien, a veterinarian. He has three daughters - Micah, Avital, and Mara.

About the Author