Description:
An astronomer turned psychiatrist, Jaime Smith traces his education back to his early studies in the humanities and a life-changing move to Argentina as a young researcher photographing faint blue stars. Returning with his family to the US for graduate studies and then on to British Columbia to teach university courses, Smith ultimately segued into medicine, beginning a decades long career as a psychiatrist at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic in Vancouver, BC.
Drawing from a background in diverse fields of study, Smith's memoir, Foxtrot, gets new life alongside a collection of essays that explore topics ranging from quantum mechanics and philosophy to literature, linguistics and systems of belief. For Smith, it is the production, acquisition and playful interaction with knowledge that makes us human. Stardust reflects his never-ending engagement with that pursuit.
Brief description: Jaime Smith, MD, FRCPC, was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, and upon completing his undergraduate studies in humanities at the University of Minnesota, moved to Argentina to work as an astronomer at the national observatory, leaving behind the political framework of a country that he no longer supported. Smith's path would ultimately lead him to British Columbia, where he was a university teacher in physics, mathematics and astronomy before changing careers and receiving his MD, followed by four years of training in psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. Smith was a participant in the fight to de-stigmatize homosexuality within the medical community and served on the front line of the AIDS epidemic in Vancouver, BC. A widower since 2011, he has three daughters, seven grandsons and four great grandchildren.
Review Quotes:
"Jaime Smith's memoir traces the contours of an extraordinary and thoroughly idiosyncratic life that is guided by an enthusiasm for embracing new intellectual, physical and affective challenges. The eclectic essay collection following is delectable reading for those who prize a relentless and uncompromising thoughtfulness, often with a Borgesian twist."
- Dr. Peggy Day Professor of Religion and Culture University of Winnipeg
"This is a thinking person's book by a clever and thoughtful writer. In Stardust, we find short essays on Nordic noir crime fiction, atheism, Wagner's operas, Confucius, human rights and much more. Best of all, besides his professional expertise in physics, astronomy, medicine and psychiatry, Smith knows how to write for the lay reader, using simple language salted with wit and humour."
- Dr. George O. Mackie Professor Emeritus University of Victoria
"Unlike the hedgehog, who knows one big thing, the fox ranges over a wide territory and knows many things. In his playfully titled memoir Foxtrot and his short essays, Jaime Smith looks back over his nine decades, . . . revealing the adventurous intellect that made him first an astronomer, then a psychiatrist. The essays demonstrate the breadth of his intellectual interests and the open mind that shows him to be an explorer in his personal as well as his professional life."
- Ann Pearson Author of A Promise on the Horizon