Welcome! I’m Shanda McManus, MD — a writer, a family physician, and I’m truly glad you’re here.
I care deeply about the well-being of Black women and the realities we navigate in our bodies every day. You’ll hear me talk about weathering — how chronic stress from systemic racism impacts our health. Understanding weathering helps us reclaim wellness through knowledge, care, and community.
This is a safe space where I share reflections on health equity, storytelling in medicine, writing, and the practices that ground my own life — including my Seven Pillars of Wellness (nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, connection, substance avoidance, and spiritual/ancestral grounding). Think of it as a gentle guide, a health map I’ve lived and curated over the years.
A few things about me so we can get to know each other better:
🟤 My debut memoir, Brother Epistles, will be published in June 2026. It’s a series of letters to my brother, Monir — a way of honoring his life lost to gun violence, in 1992.
🟤 I’ve been married to my husband for 30+ years, and together we’re raising our 5 beautiful children.
🟤 I’m an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, where I teach narrative medicine.
🟤 I’m a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and Baldwin for the Arts Fellow.
🟤 And my favorite things? A quiet cup of green tea in the morning, indie bookstores, my Philadelphia Eagles, Muji pens, and buying far too many notebooks.
Please introduce yourself below and share your favorite things — I’d love to know who’s here. Thank you for being here. I hope this space offers warmth, clarity, and care.
You can read more about health, wellness, and stories on my Substack — linked in my bio.
#HealthEquity #BlackWomenLead #Legacy #BlackBeauty #BlackExcellence #WomenInMedicine #Medicalmythbuster #RacialBiasInMedicine #Weathering
We are just 4 weeks away from the 2nd Annual HOPE Symposium.
Tickets are going faster than we anticipated and are now becoming limited. If you haven't secured your spot yet, this is your sign! Don't miss out on two days of powerful storytelling and community-driven solutions.
🗓️ When: June 10th & 11th, 2026 | 11am - 4pm
📍 Where: 4240 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
🎟️ Get FREE Tickets / Become a Sponsor: Click the link in our bio or visit ifsinc.org/hope2026
#HopeSymposium2026 #IFSPHilly #EndGunViolence #PhillyEvents #CommunityHealing
Just about a month and a half until @shandamdwrites ’s memoir BROTHER EPISTLES is released on June 23, and we’re packing all the preordered copies (and THERE ARE A LOT) to begin shipping in the next week! If you’ve already preordered through us, watch for your shipping confirmation emails to be coming through soon. We have about 10 signed bookplate copies remaining, so IF YOU HAVEN’T preordered yet, I’d suggest you get your order in with us ASAP. Looking forward to sending out this book that @ranaawdish called “an astonishing act of resurrection” into your hearts and minds. ❤️ Link to order in our bio!
Tomorrow is Independent Bookstore Day! I can think of a few hot new books that would make a great read ♥️
The stunning Brother Epistles by @shandamdwrites
The gorgeous collection of writing from @intimajournal pieces @dbulseco assembled in Where It Hurts.
@karazivin haunting maternal health memoir Preservered
The beautiful new book of poetry I am gifting everyone by @maggiesmithpoet .
And, if there is still room in your cart, there is always my new book, After Shock!
My favs … @literatibookstore@schulerbooks and @elephantearbooks but what matters is to shop small
#ShopIndie #WhatToRead #indiebookstoreday #independentbookstoreday #bookstoreday
Memoirs offer something medicine alone can’t—perspective.
These 5 books explore identity, resilience, and lived experience in ways that stay with you long after reading.
Which one would you add to your reading list?
#MemoirRecommendations#BookRecs#NonfictionReads#DoctorsWhoRead#HealthcarePerspective#MedicineAndHumanity #BlackAuthors#WomenInMedicine#DiverseBooks#ReadingList#Bookstagram
📣 MEET SHANDA MCMANUS 📣
@shandamdwrites is a Philly girl who somehow ended up in New Jersey and avoided becoming that dreaded “Jersey driver” her Dad warned her about. A family physician and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, she has spent over twenty years believing that stories are as essential to healing as any prescription she could write. Her work appears in Bellevue Literary Review, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, Midnight & Indigo,and swamp pink, and she is a 2021 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, a 2023 Baldwin For The Arts Fellow, and will be in residence at Hedgebrook this fall. Her debut, Brother Epistles: a sister’s memoir, letters to her brother Monir, killed in Philadelphia in 1992, is forthcoming from Split/Lip Press in June 2026. When she’s not teaching narrative medicine or writing her Weatherproof newsletter, she’s keeping up with five kids. And whenever she can, she’s screaming for the Philadelphia Eagles with her husband or haunting indie bookstores for her next read.
Read more about what she’s up to at shandamcmanus.com (/).
Shanda is performing on Friday, May 1 @ 8 & Saturday, May 2 @ 1
Tix @ link in bio!
As a doctor, one thing I always emphasize is staying up to date on cervical cancer screening. If you’re between the ages 25-65, testing is recommended every 3–5 years.
At-home kits like the one I used from @teal.health make it easy to get screened in the comfort of your own home. 🩵
#CervicalCancerAwareness #WomensHealth #PreventativeCare #CancerPrevention #WomensHealthMatter #HealthcareEducation #MedicalEducation #HPVAwareness #PapSmear #HealthScreening #WomensWellness #DoctorOnInstagram #HealthTipsDaily #StayHealthy
"We're free. But not equal." — Rev. Jesse Jackson, 2020
Rev. Jesse Jackson died this February 17.
Most remember the marches. Few remember his fierce fight for health equity—getting vaccinated publicly during COVID when Black rates lagged, calling out disparities in care, partnering with Black physicians for better data and access.
He knew the numbers:
Black Americans dying at higher rates.
Not biology. Systemic inequality.
This week's Weatherproof newsletter equips every Black woman who deserves to live long and well.
Link in bio. Free subscribe.
Rest in power, Reverend.
The fight continues.
#JesseJackson #HealthEquity #BlackWomensHealth #HeartHealthMonth #RestInPower #Weatherproofing #KnowYourNumbers #CivilRights #HealthJustice #SystemicChange
I felt fine. My numbers said otherwise.
As a Black woman and board-certified family physician, I've seen heart disease—the #1 killer of Black women—strike silently.
We develop it earlier, get diagnosed later.
Weathering is real.
But these 5 numbers are your protection:
Know them. Track them. Own them.
This week's Weatherproof newsletter breaks it all down—what they mean, what to do if your doctor dismisses you.
Link in bio. Free subscribe.
#HeartHealthMonth #BlackWomensHealth #HeartDiseaseAwareness #HealthEquity #PreventiveCare #WomensHeartHealth #WellnessForBlackWomen #Weatherproofing #KnowYourNumbers
Taking time to rest and restore is an essential part of being your best self.
Sometimes you just need to pause, look around at the beauty the world offers, breathe deeply, and simply take it all in.
Prioritize your health.
Prioritize your peace.
Blessings 🤎 🤎
#PrioritizePeace #RestAndRestore #MindfulMoments #SoftLiving #BreatheDeeply #PeacefulMind #WellnessJourney #SlowDown #InnerCalm
The DASH diet lowers BP by 11 points in two weeks—as effectively as medication.
But I know the barriers: cost, time, food deserts.
You don't need to overhaul everything. Just ONE swap this week:
- Swap processed snacks for fruit
- Choose whole grains
- Add one vegetable
- Replace soda with water
Both DASH and Mediterranean diets emphasize ADDING, not eliminating.
Abundance, not deprivation.
Which swap will you try?
Drop it in the comments 💚
Link in bio for full newsletter
#HeartHealthyEating #DASHDiet #BlackWomensHealth #Weatherproofing #HeartHealthMonth
