Dr. Serena Chaudhry is a social worker and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane and the Clinical Director of the Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic. Her professional interests focus on chronic mental illness and forced migration. She spent her time in the woods finishing a book about the former President of Liberia whom she met while he was living in a public housing complex amidst thousands of other Liberian refugees on Staten Island.

“Stepping outside of my life and into the woods allowed me to truly immerse myself in my writing, to re-experience what was on the page and see it differently. This greatly facilitated the editing process. Now I have a final draft of my manuscript and have started submitting it to publishing companies.” – Serena Chaudhry