A.L. Kushner
@alkushner.bsky.social
1.2K followers 3.8K following 320 posts
Former surgeon, now (mostly) stay-at-home dad. WIP, a memoir “Lessons from Chaos: Notes of a “Simple” Surgeon, sort of Anthony Bourdain with a scalpel. Join my mail list at alkushner.com
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Memoir update: 47k words, 82 chapters.

New working title: Lessons from Chaos: Notes of a ‘Simple’ Surgeon.

Grateful for the encouragement so far, it keeps me writing.

Chapter 1: An Idiot. It begins with this Newsweek cover. Opening days of the war in Slovenia, I was next to the photographer. 😬
Hi, I’m Adam.

I spent years flying into war zones and disaster areas, now I live in Alaska, fish for salmon in the summer, and am a SAH dad for two boys.

Looking to connect with:

- Writers
- Explorers
- Parents
- Humanitarians
- Anyone figuring out what comes after the mission.
Typhoon Halong destroyed several coastal villages in western Alaska, forcing the evacuation of as many as 2,000 people. Homes have been flooded, pushed off their foundations and, in some cases, swept entirely out to sea. Here, floodwaters inundate the village of Kotzebue. Photo by Alaska DOT.
Sometimes I feel bad about it, but honestly I’d sooner go back to a war zone than chaperone an elementary school trip or attend a PTA meeting.

Anyone else feel this way?

#LessonsFromChaos #Parenting #Alaska
After years of going into war zones and disaster areas, I now live in Alaska and am a stay at home dad for two boys.

I traded one type of Chaos for another.

#LessonsFromChaos #Parenting
Reposted by A.L. Kushner
The leader of Madagascar’s coup is a little-known figure. His background as an outsider will help him win over the downtrodden—though he may scare the elite
Gen Z revolution or military coup in Madagascar?
Men with guns now run the country
econ.st
Large-scale evacuations underway from storm-battered Western Alaska villages
Flooded Alaska villages face a storm recovery far tougher than most Americans will ever experience
More than 1,400 seeking shelter as hundreds wait to be evacuated after catastrophic Western Alaska storm, officials say
In South Sudan, I once left the OR to work in a cholera camp. I helped patients survive. Some expats were furious.

Sometimes doing the right thing makes you the bad guy.

#LessonsFromChaos
Son and school buddy carved ‘67’ pumpkins today, guess what grade they’re in? 🙄
The weirdest part of humanitarian work isn’t the danger. It’s the absurdity.

#LessonsFromChaos #WHS2025
Reposted by A.L. Kushner
Surgery in a war zone isn’t just about saving lives. It’s about controlling chaos long enough to make it look like order.

I learned that the hard way.

#LessonsFromChaos #WHS2025
Surgery in a war zone isn’t just about saving lives. It’s about controlling chaos long enough to make it look like order.

I learned that the hard way.

#LessonsFromChaos #WHS2025
Nice turnout at Boo to the flu ANMC - get your flu shot
Morning walk #AnchorageAK
Ever wonder what it’s really like on an @MSF mission or what you would do if the OR lights went out mid-surgery?

It’s not just medicine. It’s a mix of chaos, survival, and absurdity. I wrote Lessons from Chaos to try and make sense of it.

#LessonsFromChaos
Surgeons are supposed to be cool under pressure. But nothing prepares you for operating in a converted chicken farm with missiles flying overhead.

That’s chaos.

#LessonsFromChaos #surgery #war #memoir
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BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice: