About Me — David Mokotoff
I am a retired MD, avid writer, cook, fisherman, gardener, and recovering political junkie.
I am 72-years old and a retired cardiologist. I was born in New York City, but my family moved to the Catskill mountains when I was four. My father was an internist and country doctor. I recall making house calls with him; his patients sometimes paid via barter, like produce, fish, and venison. These were the days before Medicare, and many folks did not have health insurance. I wanted to become a doctor from a young age, but there was always a creative part of my brain that would make its presence known.
Even as a child, I loved to read and write. I am never without a book, although these days it is electronic. My interests are eclectic and have spanned subjects from health and medicine to fishing, cooking, and travel. There is something wonderful and satisfying about being able to touch others with written words. I hope to inform and entertain the reader. I enjoy dialoguing with people but find much of the communications on social media to be destructive. As a medical doctor, now retired, writing has provided necessary stimulus to the right side of my brain.
I have done book and movie reviews, travel blogs, restaurant reviews, and fishing stories. I have been published in medical journals, travel and outdoor magazines, and published a memoir and short story collection. Fans have asked me about writing a novel, but I don’t think I have that in me. I admire people like Stephen King or Lee Child who can write a fictional piece over 500 pages and keep the storyline tight, engaging, and relevant. Perhaps it’s my ADHD that blocks me from tackling this, but in the words of the great Clint Eastwood, “A man has got to know his limitations.”
I cannot imagine a time when I cannot write. With the overwhelming amount of content available today, it is difficult to sort through all the “noise.” Any writer needs to connect with their readers. Different styles hook different people. I am often asked, “What do you like to read”? The answer is not a genre. I enjoy many genres. My only criteria are it must be written well. I also go through spurts. Right now, I am reading Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books. I am a fan of historical fiction, and Mark Sullivan’s “Beneath a Scarlet Sky” was a great read. Adventure and extreme survival stories hook me as well. John Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” and “Into the Wild” are classics. As a fisherman, “438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival” by Jonathan Franklin was fantastic.
When my health and weather is permitting, I am likely fishing in the Gulf of Mexico for grouper, snapper, mackerel, cobia, and hogfish. I clean my fish and cook it as well. I used to love traveling and hope to resume as soon as the pandemic ends. I am a recovering political “junkie. I now find that obsession with being destructive and counter-productive. I love connecting with readers and followers. Please don’t hesitate to email me directly with questions or comments.
If you enjoyed reading this, or found it interesting, please follow me on Medium https://medium.com/@davidmokotoff/, Facebook, Twitter @DavidMokotoff, or contact me at cookdoc2019@gmail.com
