About Damon
Damon the Physician
Is a professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, where he teaches and mentors medical students. He is also a staff psychiatrist within the Durham Veteran Affairs Health System, where he co-leads an integrated primary care-mental health team. He graduated from Duke School of Medicine, and then attended Yale Law School where he focused on health policy and medical ethics, before returning to Duke to complete his medical internship and psychiatric residency. Damon has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, and Psychiatric Services. He is a faculty member with Duke’s Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine, where he is at work on a project that examines Duke’s history during the era of segregation.
Damon the Writer
Is the author of several essays and articles that explore the intersections of race, medicine, and mental health. His first book, Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine, made the New York Times bestseller list and was selected by TIME Magazine as a top non-fiction book that year. It was described as “a smart, thought-provoking, frontline look at race and medicine” and “essential reading in our time of racial unrest.” His writing has been featured in publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Discover Magazine. Damon also served as non-fiction editor of the Bellevue Literary Review. His second book, Facing the Unseen: The Struggle to Center Mental Health in Medicine was an Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of April 2024 and was selected by Nature as one of the five best science books of 2024.
Damon the Man
Was raised in Maryland (PG County) by hardworking parents who themselves grew up during the segregation era and did not attend college. They insisted that their kids did, and Damon stayed in school so long after college that his mom worried that he might never get a job. He is the tallest person in his family, and in high school unexpectedly found himself being recruited to play Division I college basketball (which he did with mixed results). Given his aversion to reading books in his English classes, Damon never imagined writing one himself (much less two), and pinches himself at least once a week to make sure that this writing thing isn’t some kind of strange dream. Damon is married to his medical school sweetheart, who everyone around them regards as the real doctor in their family.
