An astronomer turned psychiatrist, Jaime Smith traces his education back to his early studies in the humanities and a life-changing move to Argentina as a young researcher photographing faint blue stars. Returning with his family to the US for graduate studies and then on to British Columbia to teach university courses, Smith ultimately segued into medicine, beginning a decades long career as a psychiatrist at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic in Vancouver, BC. Drawing from a background in diverse fields of study, Smiths memoir, Foxtrot, gets new life alongside a collection of essays that explore topics ranging from quantum mechanics and philosophy to literature, linguistics, and systems of belief. For Smith, it is the production, acquisition and playful interaction with knowledge that makes us human. Stardust reflects Smiths never-ending engagement with that pursuit.
Jaime Smith, MD, FRCPC, was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, and upon completing his undergraduate studies in humanities at the University of Minnesota, moved to Argentina to work as an astronomer at the national observatory, leaving behind the political framework of a country that he no longer supported. Smiths path would ultimately lead him to British Columbia, where he was a university teacher in physics, mathematics and astronomy before changing careers and receiving his MD, followed by four years of training in psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. Smith was a participant in the fight to destigmatize homosexuality within the medical community and served on the front line of the AIDS epidemic in Vancouver, BC. A widower since 2011, he has three daughters, seven grandsons and four greatgrandchildren.
"Jaime Smiths memoir traces the contours of an extraordinary and thoroughly idiosyncratic life that is guided by an enthusiasm for embracing new intellectual, physical and affective challenges. The eclectic essay collection following is delectable reading for those who prize a relentless and uncompromising thoughtfulness, often with a Borgesian twist." Dr. Peggy Day, Professor of Religion and Culture, University of Winnipeg
