Writer · Photographer · Chess player
West Texas. Jewish and Zen. A life after titles—told through poetry, photographs, chess, memory, and the discipline of beginning again.
Physician, retiredAuthorU.S. Navy veteran
— Jishin 自心
ExploreA note on telling the truth
For me, “I don’t know” was part of being honest with the people who trusted me.
“I tell the truth as best as I can.”
New memoir · Private review
How a Psychiatrist Got Committed Twice and Still Tried to Run Rounds
“The staff thought this was grandiosity. I thought it was continuity of care.”
Explore John
The titles changed. The central practice did not: pay attention, tell the truth, make something alive.
From credentials to candor
For thirty years, the work came with titles: physician, psychiatrist, CPA, professor. Today John writes, photographs, studies, plays chess, and follows the harder instruction underneath every title—meet life directly.
Selected writing
I Am the Attending is a darkly comic memoir of mania, involuntary hospitalization, institutional absurdity, and the slow return to ordinary life.
Three public excerpts from the completed manuscript.
120 poems in Hebrew and English.
Published memoirBipolar disorder, recovery, and redemption.
For writersA direct invitation to put words on the page.
RecoveryA practical guide to achieving abstinence.
Jishin 自心 · The self-heart
Jewish by inheritance. Zen by practice. Alive by attention.
Jishin is John’s Soto Zen dharma name. His creative work joins Jewish memory, Zen practice, Stoic discipline, and a lifelong insistence on looking directly at what is difficult.
Earlier professional chapter
John’s earlier educational writing on psychiatry, addiction, mindfulness, and Stoicism remains available as a historical archive. It is educational material, not current medical practice or individualized advice.
Browse the mental-health archivePoetry & photographs
Poems in nine languages. Jewish memory and Zen attention. Follow the latest poems, photographs, and notes from West Texas.
Contact
For writing, publishing, photography, speaking, or media inquiries, contact John directly.
John Cobb is retired. This website does not offer medical services, establish a physician-patient relationship, or provide individualized medical advice.
