It seems that I’ve been knee-deep in emergencies my entire adult life.  In my early twenties, I was a full-time, paid firefighter in my home town.  Since then, I’ve worked in emergency rooms as a nursing assistant, a medical student, a resident physician, and most recently, as an attending physician.

I spent three years in residency training in emergency medicine, and then two years as an assistant professor of emergency medicine.

For the past fourteen years I’ve worked in a group that serves a hospital that sees 58 thousand patients a year. 

In 1983, I met Sally Somers.  We married two years later, and have since had three children, Sarah, John, and Sam.

My dad was a librarian, and I grew up around books.  I have always enjoyed reading, and I started writing in 2001.  I have benefited enormously from the North Carolina Writers’ Network, Tin House Writers’ Conference, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. 

Photo by Sally Somers Austin

Photo by Mark Austin

Photo by Mark Austin

Photo by Peter Somers