Read, Write, Walk, Eat, Play, and Share in community in beautiful springtime Paris!

This five day offering will combine all the delights and fascinations of Paris (History! Museums! Sightseeing! Food!) with creative exercises and a deep exploration of how close looking, creative work, and appreciation of beautiful things can be applied to healthcare practice. Led by longtime practitioners and teachers of Narrative Medicine from Columbia University, the program will offer daily writing sessions held at beautiful historic Reid Hall‍ in the sixth arrondissement, as well as experiential activities, two group meals, and an optional writing consult** for those interested in extra writing focus. Participants will exit the week rejuvenated and restored and connected, with a set of completed creative exercises, new community, and, we hope, ideas for practices that can help sustain a sense of joie de vivre in everyday work and life. 

**participants with longer writing projects/works-in-progress will be invited to sign up for optional consultation time with Nellie during the week (for an additional fee) . If this is of interest to you please email parispauseretreat@gmail.com for more details.

DATES:

May 18-22, 2026

COST**:

EARLY BIRD PRICE $1350 (signup by February 1)

After February 1 Price: $1600

**Cost includes all teaching sessions & two dinners (does not include airfare, hotel, or other meals)

Note: Program will be for a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 people. Sign up ASAP to secure your spot! **Participants will be refunded in full by April 1 if we do not meet minimum enrollees**

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

We will gather on our first night for an opening meal at a typical Parisian restaurant. The following days will be a mix of morning reading and brief writing sessions and short trips in the afternoons to destinations around Paris accompanied by experiential exercises aimed at opening creative pathways. Participants will have plenty of free time for exploring Paris on their own and for incorporating the creative work. At the end of the week, we will gather again for a closing meal to debrief and celebrate!

ABOUT THE FACULTY:

Delphine Taylor, MD, a general internist, has over two decades of experience teaching medical students and training faculty in Narrative Medicine methods at the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia. She has conducted and published qualitative research on this work and is a French citizen.

Nellie Hermann, M.F.A., is creative director of the Columbia NM program and adjunct Associate Professor at Barnard College. A published novelist, she developed trainings for medical school faculty through an NIH-funded grant (2008-10), is co-author of The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine, and has been practicing NM for over twenty years. She was a fellow at the Institute for Ideas & Imagination at CGC-Paris in 2018-19.

In 2023, following a faculty fellowship based at Reid Hall, Nellie & Delphine founded a French initiative for Narrative Care with annual meetings attended by European healthcare practitioners. Inspired by these meetings, the two began to feel that Reid Hall could be an incredible base for future gatherings and teachings. 

QUESTIONS? Please email parispauseretreat@gmail.com