Making the Rounds: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine

What was it like to survive an illegal abortion, come out as a lesbian, and train to become a doctor in the late 1960s and early '70s—before Roe v. Wade, before Title IX, and in a largely homophobic nation?

In this unflinching and riveting coming-of-age memoir, Patricia Grayhall battles sexism in a male-dominated profession. She plunges into a life that is never boring—and certainly never without passion.

Tossed around in the rough seas of medical training, chronically exhausted and emotionally drained, Patricia chafes at the toxic masculinity of the culture of medicine, facing many of the same issues women face in male-dominated fields today.

Although the sexual revolution and women's movement in 1970s Boston celebrate women's desire, one barrier after another prevents Patricia from finding the supportive long-term relationship she yearns for. Will she risk her career to find the love she seeks?

"Inspiring, heartfelt, and brutally honest . . . this is a book that will give women and those who care about them the strength and motivation to persevere. . . . " —Seattle Book Review

This book, named one of Kirkus Reviews's Best 100 Indie Books of 2022, is the inspiring true story of how one woman navigates these stormy seas without signposts to reach her goals—often battered, but never broken.

© 2025 She Writes Press (Ebook): 9781647422745

Release date

Ebook: 30 July 2025