Writing

If a sentence
moved you.

If a line of writing stayed with you, this is where it comes from, and what to read next.

Summer evening view from the Littlejohn Island dock, looking out across Casco Bay at sunset
Summer morning from the Littlejohn Island dock, Casco Bay. Where the writing begins.
Newsletter on Substack

The Bountiful Path

Quiet, unhurried essays on medicine, art, and the turning seasons.

Story  ·  System  ·  Self  ·  Seasonality

Visit Bountiful Path → Read on Substack →
Reflections

Selected essays from The Bountiful Path. Read on Substack, or visit the archive for earlier work.

Skylark

Books on the Boat

Skylark

Color, catacombs, and the hidden chambers beneath a spring in Maine.

Color was labor. It was trade. It was secrecy. It was status.
Read on Substack →
The Treehouse in April

Essay

The Treehouse in April

Embracing the Wood phase in spring, a neighbor’s treehouse on the West Side Trail, and what the bare branches let us see.

The trouble with Wood is not growth itself. The trouble is an inability to bend.
Read on Substack →

Read on Substack · The Bountiful Path

A handful to start with

A few pieces from three decades in Maine Magazine, Doximity Op‑Med, and other outlets, refreshed each visit.

Memoir in progress
Memoir
Daughter, Doctor, Mom.
A memoir centered on Lisa’s relationship with her late father, Charles Belisle, MD, who practiced for nearly fifty years at Maine Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program. The book moves through clinical practice, childhood, and the particular inheritance of being raised by a country doctor.
Dr. Charles Belisle, Dr. Lisa Belisle, and Dr. Campbell Belisle Haley at the Maine Medical Center Wall of Honor
Dr. Charles Belisle (left), honored at the Maine Medical Center Wall of Honor for nearly fifty years of service, with his daughter Dr. Lisa Belisle and his grandson Dr. Campbell Belisle Haley.
“My father made me the physician I am today. From my early experience as his house call companion, I gained a curiosity about people and a willingness to be transformed by learning that I’ve never lost.”
UVM Larner College of Medicine, June 2025 →
Companions to the work

Tools and teachings that take the writing from the page into daily practice. The full catalog and downloads live at bountifulpath.com/companions.

Reflection toolkit
Your Seasonal Wellness Companion
A field-guide PDF paired with a companion app, organized around the Five Phases of Chinese medicine. Spring is available now.
Get the Spring toolkit →
Companion app
The Shape of Your Days
A gentle reflection tool for seeing the patterns already present in your life. For Bountiful Path subscribers.
Explore the app →
Course
The Life That’s Asking to Be Lived
Five self-paced lessons for anyone who senses something more is possible. Grounded in medicine and seasonal wisdom.
Be notified when it opens →
Our Daily Tread: Thoughts for an Inspired Life
A founding project  ·  Nonprofit philanthropy
Our Daily Tread:
Thoughts for an Inspired Life
Editor  ·  Aerie River Press, 2008

This perpetual calendar of quotations, essays, and photographs was born from a friendship. Hanley Denning, a Bowdoin classmate and Maine native, moved to Guatemala City and founded Safe Passage, a nonprofit dedicated to serving children and families living beside the city garbage dump. Her life’s work there became the foundation for this project.

Lisa brought together a community of supporters, gathering images, words, and stories to create a book that could serve as a fundraiser for Safe Passage. The result was a collection that reflected the breadth of people moved by Hanley’s mission. Safe Passage continues that work today.

Learn about Safe Passage →
Browse the published archive 79 pieces · 2012–2024

Essays and profiles published in Maine Magazine, Doximity Op‑Med, and other outlets. Filter by topic, audience, or year, or search across titles, themes, and quotes. Defaults to the 12 most recent.

Topic
Audience
Year
Search
Loading…
Loading archive…