Janet Gilsdorf's work as a scientist reveals the secrets of nature; in her field of microbiology, those secrets are microscopic in size yet powerful in impact. In her work as a physician she guides patients and their families through their medical challenges and counsels them during their finest, as well as their worst, moments. As a writer, she integrates the scientific, medical, and personal truths she witnesses, makes emotional sense of their meaning, and finds the most effective ways to communicate these truths through concepts and images built from words.