Dr. Patricia Grayhall: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine
Monday, February 2, 2026
9:30AM - 12:00PM
Location: The Watertown Hotel
4242 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
Dr. Patricia Grayhall (aka Patricia Sparks) shares her personal and professional experiences in medical school and as a doctor while coming out as a lesbian in the 1960s. Dr. Grayhall is the author of Making the Rounds: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine, noted as one of the best 100 independently published books of 2022.
What was it like to survive an illegal abortion, come out as a lesbian, and train to become a doctor in the late 1960s and early ’70s—before Roe v. Wade, before Title IX, and in a largely homophobic nation?
She will share with us her unflinching and riveting coming-of-age story, telling of her journey from believing she is the only lesbian in Arizona to dipping her toes into dating in San Francisco, attending medical school in Salt Lake City as one of only five women in a class of one hundred, and completing an internship as the only woman in her cohort in Boston. She’ll tell us about her writing process too. She has a great story as she plunges into a life that is never boring—and certainly never without passion.
Patricia lives with the love of her life on an island in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys other people’s dogs and occasional sightings of orca, eagles, otters, and black bears.
Parking and Transportation: The Watertown Hotel, 4242 Roosevelt Way NE, is in the University District close to public transportation including light rail.
There is a parking garage beneath the hotel that is easy to enter from the left lane of Roosevelt Ave (one-way street going south). To open the parking garage gate, use the call button to tell the hotel operator you are there for the AAUW meeting. The program is free, but there is a $5 fee for parking, pay at the desk after you arrive. Carpooling is suggested.
