Jonas Attilus

I began writing a memoir about my dad, an immigrant, about borders (physical, emotional, even ontological). But the story kept shifting. It pulled me back to my neighborhood in Haiti, to my mom’s embrace, to the earthquake and its aftermath. I needed to tell that story first. I’m deeply grateful to Split/Lip Press for selecting What the Ground Couldn’t Shake, to the Minnesota Refugee and Immigrant writers group, my beta readers, my family, and to Haitian storytellers who made it possible for me to see myself on the page. I hope this book honors those we lost on January 12, 2010, keeps their memory alive, and recognizes those who continue to carry their legacy. Nou se Wozo. Mapou Nou ye. If you’ve ever been drawn to Haitian stories, hearing Haitian voices speak for themselves, I hope you find something of that here. #readthecaribbean #haitianwriter #physicianwriter

Hello all — I haven’t posted in a while and wanted to reintroduce myself. My name is Jonas Attilus. I’m a Haitian-born, board-certified psychiatrist practicing in rural America, working primarily with low-income and Native American communities. I’ve taken creative writing classes with the Bellevue Literary Review, attended writing workshops with Brian Malloy at the University of Minnesota, and most recently joined the refugee writing group led by Kao Kalia Yang. I read and speak four languages, which probably won’t surprise anyone who knows how much I love words. If you love them too, let’s connect. I read not just for story, but for the music of the sentence—the texture, the imagery, the quiet sparks that appear when words lean against each other just right. If that kind of reading moves you too, you’re in good company here. I recently finished writing a memoir, and I’m now searching for the right home for the book.

So much happened in 2025. I graduated from psychiatry residency, moved to a new city, and—almost unexpectedly—came close to meeting my reading goal. This year, I read 22 books. I wanted to read in three different languages, and although English made up most of my reading, I loved discovering writers from other parts of the world. Some authors moved me so much that I bought their work again in French just to stay with their voices a little longer. Many of you know I didn’t used to read fiction, and most of my own work lives in nonfiction. But once I began reading fiction this year, I couldn’t stop. English *The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu by Augusto Higa Oshiro *About Uncle by Rebecca Gisler *The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa *Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat *I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman *Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat *To Save and to Destroy Viet Thanh Nguyen *The Time of the Novel by Lara Mimosa Montes *Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa *Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico *Specimen by Sienna Liu *When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi *Greek Lessons by Han Kang *Human Acts by Han Kang *The Vegetarian by Han Kang *Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji *Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli French *L’Étranger by Albert Camus *La Place by Annie Ernaux *Impossibles Adieux by Han Kang *Syngué Sabour by Atiq Rahimi Spanish *Crónica de una muerte anunciada by Gabriel García Márquez

One week from today, this incredible webinar will be taking place. If you've ever wanted to publish a book, had a wonderful idea that you wanted to share with the world especially children...but are confused about the process. Questions swirl in your head like ... What is print on demand? Where do I find illustrators? How do I write my idea down ? This webinar is for you ! Link in bio to sign up! N ap tann ou. Webinar will be in Kreyòl & English. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ZFHyNt7S4qQWLTAxrRNfg

What an honor it was to meet @ktlee.writes in person after reading her book. Writing itself is a labor of love, but going on tour, meeting readers who feel deeply connected to the work and want to know more, requires another kind of sacrifice. It asks the writer to keep reopening their inner, emotional world, again and again, for readers who no longer feel like strangers anymore. Thank you for stopping by Minnesota!!!

A huge welcome to the newest member of the SLP family, Haitian-born psychiatrist and writer Jonas Attilus @jonasattilus and his memoir WHAT THE GROUND COULDN'T SHAKE, which was selected from our 2025 nonfiction submissions period! A memoir of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the collective trauma and displacement that followed survivors through the aftermath, WHAT THE GROUND COULDN'T SHAKE is a tour de force and we cannot wait to share it with you in August 2027! Welcome, Jonas!!!

Link in bio for the full text, and consider to subscribe to my Substack. “So much is unfolding here right now — in our state, in our country. I believe each of us must show up in whatever ways we can. This event felt less about personal ambition and more about community — about reminding one another that we are not alone, that we are living through this together.”

Friends and colleagues, I’d love to see you if you’re in Minnesota this Friday, 2/27 at East Side Freedom Library, St Paul. I’m reading at PEN America’s Voices Without Borders—sharing work about what refuses to be contained by borders: memory, language, home. Would mean a lot to have familiar faces there. /event/voices-without-borders/

Link in bio “But the following year, I was more integrated into my host country. I was in medical school. My growing mastery of Spanish helped me learn how to belong. That was when I discovered something that changed the way I understood Valentine’s Day. In Mexico, people don’t say Feliz Día del Amor—they say Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad. Love and friendship. As if everyone deserves to be included. As if no one should be left behind. If you have a partner, it is your day to celebrate. If you don’t, all you need is a friend.”

See link in bio “For eighteen months, I walked the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, asking myself what it would mean for us today. For eighteen months, my imagination failed me. Perhaps because the events I was trying to grasp belonged to another time, another country, another people. The past felt distant, insulated by geography and history. And so, eventually, I returned to my daily routines, as if distance itself could stand in for understanding. The question persists: In what ways do I participate in injustice—through my actions, or worse, through indifference to my neighbor’s pain?”

“I know publishing is not an easy path. But after twenty years of becoming a doctor, after surviving an earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands, after learning to hold other people’s trauma while carrying my own—I am ready. Perhaps all these years were necessary—to let the book cook, to let it form, to let it germinate. Perhaps I needed to become a psychiatrist, to listen to other people’s stories, to better understand trauma and emotion. And I truly hope that soon, you will be able to hold it in your hands.”

I had the chance to join six writers from Minneapolis—each of us migrants or children of immigrants. We worked together for six months, sharing drafts, feedback and seeing ourselves in each other’s stories and recently concluded our workshop with a public reading at the @east.side.freedom.library in St. Paul. You can find the video of my reading on my Substack