Interview with Dr David Mokotoff, MD
Dr Mokotof retired from cardiology after more than three decades of service and now shares his valuable experience on Medium.com as a prolific writer.
One of my objectives as a writer, editor, publisher, and curator is to find and introduce influential writers and leaders in their fields to my audience via interviews starting in 2019.
I noticed that avid readers expect curated content and visibility to the work of influential writers who can inform and entertain them with their knowledge and life experiences.
Therefore, I introduce influential writers with leadership capability who contribute to my curated publications and create visibility for their impactful, insightful, relatable, memorable, and eloquent stories on this platform.
In this post, I will share an interview I enjoyed conducting with David Mokotoff, MD, a long-term contributor to the Medium community and an ardent supporter of ILLUMINATION publications. His stories in my publications stand out due to their impact, rich information, authentic life lessons, engaging content, impressive style, and practical insights.
Hi Dr Mokotoff, tell us a bit about your background.
Thank you for the opportunity, Dr Yildiz. For your readers, I am a board-certified cardiologist and retired in 2015. One of my goals during retirement was to hone my writing skills. I am passionate about writing. It drives me daily, and my stories are drawn from everyday observations. I write about what other people might be thinking but in an entertaining fashion. My other passions are reading, fishing, cooking, traveling, and gardening. I share my experiences in my stories, mainly in your pubs.
I know you love reading. What are the top three books that affected your life?
It is hard to limit it to three, but here we go.
“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl
“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King
When Reading your public CV, I also noticed you wrote some popular books and scientific papers. Please mention some of them.
Yes, one of my popular books is titled “The Moose’s Children: A Memoir of Betrayal, Death and Survival.” Infinity Publishing published it on January 20, 2012. And they said about the book:
“Trained in Cardiology and in private practice for more than 30 years, David Mokotoff, M.D. has always had a passion for writing. Published in esteemed medical journals, like JAMA and Medical Economics, and medical opinion and travel blogs, he now brings his moving story of two decades of love and sorrow being married to an alcoholic childhood rape and incest survivor. The victim is now deceased. However, the memoir is written from the viewpoint of family impact, replete with chapter interviews of surviving siblings, and one by his daughter, Emily.”
In 2017, I wrote a book titled Light & Dark: A Short Story Collection. This unique collection of short stories explores many of the paradoxes of human nature and points out that no one is all good or all evil. Each story carries reflections of the light and shadow that exist within each one of us. One of the famous reviewers said:
“An intriguing mixture of archetypal nuisances in Light & Dark, as the concept plays out in everyday life. David Mokotoff weaves a provocative thread throughout his short story collection — both edgy and surreal. After reading the first story, you will want to read them all.”
I wrote some scientific papers and articles for popular magazines, too. Here are a few examples:
“Remembering Earl,” The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): October 22/29, 2008, A Piece of My Mind Section, Volume 300, №16, pages 1853–1854
“Why I Brought Spirituality to My Medical Practice,” Integrative Medicine, Vol.8, №5 October 2009
“Dealing With Demanding Dan,” Physician Practice, March 2009, page 35.
“Transitioning to Retirement,” Medical Economics, November 5, 2010
“Never Too Late to Fall in Love,” Florida Sportsman Magazine, May 2014
“Hidden Italy: Four Secret Towns Worth Discovering”, Diversion For Physicians at Leisure Magazine; February 5, 2009.
Why do you write on Medium?
I write on Medium because it is the best platform for blogging and telling stories. I am not interested in writing scientific diatribes. They are boring.
However, I seek to fuse medicine and science into an understandable yet fun read for others. The readers’ claps and comments reward my efforts.
I am not in it for the money; however, getting a check at the end of a month is a nice added bonus.
What are your values as a writer?
My two principles in writing are to tell the truth (at least as I understand it) and to be passionate. If I am not excited about a topic, it will show. Readers can see through this. Writing has to be fun for me. Otherwise, it is not worth the effort. My goals are to inform others and make them laugh simultaneously.
How do you connect with your readers?
I respond and thank as many as possible for their comments. I follow many readers, but only if I enjoy their writing as comments or stories.
I don’t think of Medium as a social media platform like Facebook, X, and Instagram, where you mindlessly click and follow thousands of people.
Seeing relatively new Medium members with 50K+ followers amuses me. I would love to have as many followers as the next writer, but I would prefer 250 quality writers and real followers to bots and scammers.
Why did you join ILLUMINATION, and how did you find it so far?
I enjoy ILLUMINATION’s diverse stories and authors’ points of view. The administrators have supported me at an early stage of my writing. Considering the number of ILLUMINATION publications, stories, and submissions, they do a yeoman’s job and expend much effort and time.
Who are some writers you follow on Medium?
I follow many great writers. Apart from yourself, I want to mention a few like Aiden (Illumination Gaming), Mike Broadly, DHSc, Julius Evans, Patrick OConnell, Deborah Camp, Lawson Wallace, Joe Slaughter, Jennifer Geer, and Celtic Chameleon.
What are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?
It is hard to choose five, but here are the most impactful ones.
The Cruel But Inevitable Body Changes That Come With Aging
This was an honest and brutal look at aging. Writing it took me only a short time, but I struck a responsive note with my audience.
If You Eat a Healthy Diet, Save Your Money Because You Don’t Need Probiotics and Prebiotics
This was a story that needed to be told. People waste so much money on unproven supplements that truth must be separated from fiction. Marketing based on health and wellness fears is so prevalent that it is almost sinful. Purveyors of these products are the modern-day equivalent of a snake-oil salesman. However, many vitamins and supplements are useful, and choices must be individualized. I don’t believe you can get the benefits of eating whole fruits and vegetables inside a pill.
If You’re an Ace Wordsmith, See How Many of These Ten Words You Know
This was my first “viral” story. I am still determining how to define viral, but my definition is soft: over 1,000 claps. To date, this one has 5,700 claps. It did garner 203 comments, however. I got the idea for this by reading unusual words I never knew. I wondered how many readers and writers knew what they meant, hence the post/quiz/poll. Most of the comments were complimentary. However, more than one reader accused me of cherry-picking obscure and useless words to pretend to be more erudite or superior. It was such an easy and successful story that I followed it up with three or four more similar posts. Unsurprisingly, each successive post drew progressively fewer claps and comments.
Maybe You Heard That the Supply Chain is Broken
I took my frustrations about the pandemic and a broken supply chain and made it amusing. It was fun and cathartic to write. It was well received.
Why I Walked Out of a Doctor Appointment and When You Should Too
In this one, I took out my frustrations with long waiting doctor appointments and lots of people related to it.
What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?
You have to write frequently but only some days. At least for me, a grammar-checking app is essential. I use Grammarly. I often re-read and edit my story at least four to five times. I may spend as much time researching and honing my title and subtitle and choosing an appropriate photo as writing the body of the post.
Occasionally, I will publish a story under my name only and not submit it to a publication. I have over 4,000 followers, but I enjoy the exposure that publications give me to readers unfamiliar with my work.
I try to fuse information with humor to make it more readable and understandable. I submit to more than one publication since audiences are variable.
I try very hard to submit to publications that boost my stories. I also comment with readers about their stories, not only mine. I used to post many stories on Facebook but found most of my followers there still needed to become Medium members.
What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?
I recommend reading all the ILLUMINATION publication submission guidelines before deciding which ones suit your needs. Edit again and again before submitting, and use grammar-correcting apps. You don’t have to write every day. Try to present your best stories to build your audience.
Please don’t waste the editor’s time with spelling and grammar errors. They are not proofreaders. They support thousands of writers to choose the best stories for the Medium audience and prevent the platform from harmful content.
If you are new to writing, consider having a friend or family member read your post first for comments and suggestions. Read your story out loud. Other than that, the answer to the previous question applies here, too.
What are your plans as a writer?
I am not going to write “The Great American Novel.” I will continue to write and grow my audience on Medium.
I once tried starting my own publication, but it was politically based and, in our current atmosphere, too divisive. The majority of the Medium audience is left of center. I am more conservative and, therefore, see no net benefit in opining about politics.
I might start another publication someday. A possible title would be “Medicine and Science with a Side of Fun.”
The more you write, the more opportunities present themselves. I remember a great comment by a speaker at a writing conference. “Good things happen to those who write.” It’s true.
Thank you, Dr Mokotoff, for your gracious introduction. Over the years, I have enjoyed reading many stories from your collection, but these three stories deeply resonated with me, so I am linking them here for my readers' enjoyment.
Common Medical Myths That Many People Continue to Believe Despite Proof to the Contrary
These disproven beliefs have been repeated so often that we don’t realize they are false. I will explain them to you.medium.com
The Real Reason Medicine and Science Cannot Give You Exact Guidelines
Human bodies are not machines; therefore, “predictable” treatments do not always yield similar results in everyone.medium.com
The FDA Fast-Tracts Another COVID-19 Booster While Preparing to Take Away Your Favorite Cold…
The FDA does not use the same “safe and effective” standard on all its decisions, and the stench of political influence…medium.com
Thank you for reading this interview script. I hope you explore the profile of David Mokotoff, MD, and read his insightful and inspiring stories full of health insights and life lessons reflecting his vast medical experience.
I also introduced several other influential writers. You can find more interviews from my collection.
Interviews with Writers on Medium
Featuring inspiring writers of ILLUMINATIONmedium.com
If you are an aspiring leader, I researched leadership over the last four decades and summarized my findings in three articles that you may find helpful.
How to Be an Excellent Technical Leader
Here’s How to Recognize Distinguished Leaders.
Here’s What Young Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Exceptional Leaders.
Mehmet, thank you. I only now noticed that you misspelled my name in the subtitle. There are two ff's at the end of my name.