Rituals from Women in Isolation

Alex Potter, photojournalist, trauma nurse and wildland firefighter

Potter is a photojournalist who has worked extensively in Yemen and Iraq, both documenting humanitarian crises and conflict, and working as a health care professional. She also spent two years as a wildland firefighter in Idaho.

Potter’s days are different depending on what she’s doing: from 12-hour shifts as a nurse, to working as a medic in Iraq, to highly structured days when fighting fires.

But she tries to start her days with coffee and reading for 10 minutes. It’s the same in Rhode Island where she works as an ER nurse now, or in Yemen or Iraq.

“I know it’s difficult to keep a routine when the world is in chaos,” she says. “I know what’s good for me, helps me feel on an even keel — that’s exercise and reading.”

https://www.thelily.com/she-spent-184-days-at-sea-alone-these-are-the-daily-rituals-that-kept-her-going/