Articles By: Sarah Thebarge

I grew up as a pastor's kid in Pennsylvania. I completed my undergrad studies at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA. I studied medicine at Yale, and Journalism at Columbia. And just when I was hitting my stride as a health care provider, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I learned the hard way what it's like to be a health care recipient. I got through seven months of treatment by God's grace, and moved across the country to start over. I currently live and practice medicine in Portland, OR. In my free time I research and edit book projects, worship with the Imago Dei community, cook for my friends, read a random assortment of books, and travel. You can contact me at sarahthebarge@gmail.com

Awareness

My friend Kristin called me in September and asked me to do the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure walk with her. We’re both breast cancer survivors — she received her diagnosis at age 43. I got mine at age 27. She thought the walk would be a good way to celebrate our lives and...

November 1st, 2012 | Essays, Social Justice | Read More

life (as i know it)

This has been a banner week for me. The company that paid my short term disability policy when I had to reduce my work hours a year ago sent me a letter this week telling me they overpaid my claim and they want their money back. I have two weeks to decide if I want to write them a check for thousands...

October 27th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Trespasses

This year I spent the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 in New York City. I stayed at The House of the Redeemer, an old Vanderbilt mansion a block away from Central Park that was willed to the Episcopalian Church when the original owners died. It features a kitchen, dining hall, chapel and library,...

September 23rd, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

life (before) death

One Saturday evening several weeks ago, I heard that 27-year-old Amy Winehouse had died, and even though I’m not familiar with much of her music, the news hit me hard. I stayed up past 2 a.m. crying for the troubled soul that was too fragile to withstand the angst of an artists’ creative process...

August 25th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Mea Culpa

Last year, my friend Reese and I were both touched by the number of homeless people living on the streets of downtown Portland, so we decided that we’d do something simple to reach out to them. Every Sunday we bought a booklet of bus passes, and we walked along the sidewalks and bridges of downtown...

June 8th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Sincerely, A Girl

The other day I was watching TV at a friend’s house when a Dove deodorant commercial came on. By the end of the ad, I was convinced that my armpits were so ugly they were not fit to be seen in public – at least not until I’d used Dove’s deodorant for at least five days. But after I’d...

May 27th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

The More The Messier

The QuiverFull Movement began in 1985, incited by Mary Pride’s book, The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality. The movement shuns birth control of any sort – even natural family planning – in favor of extraordinarily large families. The movement gets its name from Psalm 127: Like...

April 14th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Sitting In The Dark

My friend Stephanie’s grandma was diagnosed with a brain tumor just after Thanksgiving. In spite of brain surgery and chemotherapy, the tumor has grown, and her grandma is now on hospice. I had coffee with Stephanie a few days ago, and we talked a lot about life, and death, and the space in between. As...

March 30th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

planned

Usually I get pretty excited about my birthday. It’s a chance to reflect on the past year, a chance to set goals for the year to come, and a chance to thank God (again) for sparing my life. This year I decided to celebrate my 32nd birthday by taking a personal retreat. I booked a room in an old-fashioned...

March 1st, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Her Own Two Feet: Why Sarah Palin Is Bad For Women

The other day, I logged into my Facebook account and waiting for me was an invitation to become a fan of Sarah Palin. Apparently, many women in my demographic have “fanned” her, or whatever the appropriate verb is, and Facebook thought I may want to do the same. After shaking my head and muttering,...

February 8th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More