Dawn Levitt, Author
@2heartcore4u.bsky.social
Writer, poet, 2-time heart transplant recipient.
Follow me on Substack. https://dawnlevitt.substack.com/
Follow me on Substack. https://dawnlevitt.substack.com/
Pinned
From My Heart to Yours
What it really means
open.substack.com
I’m a poet, writer, survivor, stepmom, and dog-mom, living and thriving in my third life. When I say my third life, I mean it. I'm a two-time heart transplant recipient, and I'm living with my third heart.
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Eight years ago this month, I met the mother of my heart donor.
Read about the power of organ donation and a mother’s last chance to hear her son’s heartbeat.
#disability
#chronicillness
#transplant
The Day I Met My Organ Donor’s Mother
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Read about the power of organ donation and a mother’s last chance to hear her son’s heartbeat.
#disability
#chronicillness
#transplant
The Day I Met My Organ Donor’s Mother
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
The Day I Met My Organ Donor’s Mother
Taking both the sweetness and the sorrow
open.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Eight years ago this month, I met the mother of my heart donor.
Read about the power of organ donation and a mother’s last chance to hear her son’s heartbeat.
#disability
#chronicillness
#transplant
The Day I Met My Organ Donor’s Mother
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Read about the power of organ donation and a mother’s last chance to hear her son’s heartbeat.
#disability
#chronicillness
#transplant
The Day I Met My Organ Donor’s Mother
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reflections on how I never expected to live to this age along with the realization that I would not be alive today without access to affordable healthcare.
#chronicillness
#disability
#heartdisease
#healthcare
#medicare
#ACA
Today is My Birthday!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#heartdisease
#healthcare
#medicare
#ACA
Today is My Birthday!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Today is My Birthday!
How did I get to be this old?
open.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reflections on how I never expected to live to this age along with the realization that I would not be alive today without access to affordable healthcare.
#chronicillness
#disability
#heartdisease
#healthcare
#medicare
#ACA
Today is My Birthday!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#heartdisease
#healthcare
#medicare
#ACA
Today is My Birthday!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
"Sometimes things hurt in a way that we don’t really have words for ... But somehow I can tell you about looking at a cicada and you’ll understand the really important parts of what I mean." ~ @katnuernberger.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/e...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/e...
Essays in Belonging: Baby Owls, Bobtail Squid, and the Power of Asking 100 Questions
“I’ve learned my books aren’t done when I answer question, it’s when I’m asking a new and much better question than when I started.” In her latest book, Held, Kathryn Nuernberger makes …
brevity.wordpress.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM
"Sometimes things hurt in a way that we don’t really have words for ... But somehow I can tell you about looking at a cicada and you’ll understand the really important parts of what I mean." ~ @katnuernberger.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/e...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/e...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
“Increasingly, #inspirationPorn is being utilised in overcoming narratives where what is valued by able-bodied #society is used as a performative spectacle by people with #disabilities.”: buff.ly/00lXbBr
from @independentaus.bsky.social
#disability #awareness
from @independentaus.bsky.social
#disability #awareness
Rewriting disability narratives to reflect real inclusion
As Australia marks International Day of People with Disabilities, advocates call for a shift from “inspiration” tropes toward authentic disability narratives that reflect genuine inclusion.
buff.ly
December 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM
“Increasingly, #inspirationPorn is being utilised in overcoming narratives where what is valued by able-bodied #society is used as a performative spectacle by people with #disabilities.”: buff.ly/00lXbBr
from @independentaus.bsky.social
#disability #awareness
from @independentaus.bsky.social
#disability #awareness
Every new beginning comes from another beginning’s end.
Thanksgiving Road Trip and a New Dog in the Family
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Thanksgiving Road Trip and a New Dog in the Family
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Thanksgiving Road Trip and a New Dog in the Family
I can’t believe it’s already December.
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Every new beginning comes from another beginning’s end.
Thanksgiving Road Trip and a New Dog in the Family
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Thanksgiving Road Trip and a New Dog in the Family
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
A little history of the holiday and reasons to be thankful for today and every day.
Giving Thanks
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Giving Thanks
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Giving Thanks
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States.
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:32 PM
A little history of the holiday and reasons to be thankful for today and every day.
Giving Thanks
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Giving Thanks
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
It's that time again. FLARE gets to participate for the 1st time! If you like what FLARE does, vote for us for Chill Subs' Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards (@chillsubs.bsky.social)! Let's spread more awareness about what we're trying to accomplish! Vote: www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
November 17, 2025 at 7:44 PM
It's that time again. FLARE gets to participate for the 1st time! If you like what FLARE does, vote for us for Chill Subs' Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards (@chillsubs.bsky.social)! Let's spread more awareness about what we're trying to accomplish! Vote: www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
I’m a poet, writer, survivor, stepmom, and dog-mom, living and thriving in my third life. When I say my third life, I mean it. I'm a two-time heart transplant recipient, and I'm living with my third heart.
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
From My Heart to Yours
What it really means
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I’m a poet, writer, survivor, stepmom, and dog-mom, living and thriving in my third life. When I say my third life, I mean it. I'm a two-time heart transplant recipient, and I'm living with my third heart.
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#cptsd
From My Heart to Yours
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
Author Spotlight #17: Dawn Levitt (@2heartcore4u.bsky.social) and her CNF piece, "Jump Scare My Heart."
Read her piece here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
.
.
.
#litmags #authorspotlight #creativenonfiction #healthscares
Read her piece here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
.
.
.
#litmags #authorspotlight #creativenonfiction #healthscares
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Author Spotlight #17: Dawn Levitt (@2heartcore4u.bsky.social) and her CNF piece, "Jump Scare My Heart."
Read her piece here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
.
.
.
#litmags #authorspotlight #creativenonfiction #healthscares
Read her piece here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
.
.
.
#litmags #authorspotlight #creativenonfiction #healthscares
Insurance companies are refusing to pay for a common anti-rejection drug prescribed to transplant patients due to an FDA classification.
Please read, sign, and share the petition. You could save lives.
#chronicillness
Medical Gatekeeping of Lifesaving Therapies
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Please read, sign, and share the petition. You could save lives.
#chronicillness
Medical Gatekeeping of Lifesaving Therapies
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Medical Gatekeeping of Lifesaving Therapies
A personal plea
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Insurance companies are refusing to pay for a common anti-rejection drug prescribed to transplant patients due to an FDA classification.
Please read, sign, and share the petition. You could save lives.
#chronicillness
Medical Gatekeeping of Lifesaving Therapies
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Please read, sign, and share the petition. You could save lives.
#chronicillness
Medical Gatekeeping of Lifesaving Therapies
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Do you suffer from Winter Depression?
Here I discuss my own experience with the dark beast’s icy grasp.
#chronicillness
#mentalhealth
#seasonaldepression
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Here I discuss my own experience with the dark beast’s icy grasp.
#chronicillness
#mentalhealth
#seasonaldepression
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
Here we are, midway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Do you suffer from Winter Depression?
Here I discuss my own experience with the dark beast’s icy grasp.
#chronicillness
#mentalhealth
#seasonaldepression
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Here I discuss my own experience with the dark beast’s icy grasp.
#chronicillness
#mentalhealth
#seasonaldepression
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
EIC Kelly has a new poetry chapbook out with Bottlecap Press! It's a collection about her lupus. If you feel like supporting a chronically ill writer and editor, here's a link to purchase: bottlecap.press/products/asp...
Paperback copies are $10 each, and digital PDFs are $3.50 each.
Paperback copies are $10 each, and digital PDFs are $3.50 each.
November 4, 2025 at 3:08 AM
EIC Kelly has a new poetry chapbook out with Bottlecap Press! It's a collection about her lupus. If you feel like supporting a chronically ill writer and editor, here's a link to purchase: bottlecap.press/products/asp...
Paperback copies are $10 each, and digital PDFs are $3.50 each.
Paperback copies are $10 each, and digital PDFs are $3.50 each.
Is the defunding of the nationwide SNAP program a calculated plan to create anarchy?
#poverty
#SNAP
Nine Missed Meals
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#poverty
#SNAP
Nine Missed Meals
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Nine Missed Meals
And a potential plot to take advantage of desperation?
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Is the defunding of the nationwide SNAP program a calculated plan to create anarchy?
#poverty
#SNAP
Nine Missed Meals
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#poverty
#SNAP
Nine Missed Meals
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Reposted by Dawn Levitt, Author
Happy Halloween! Special Issue 2: Health Scares is out now! Read the issue here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/special-issu...
Our Contributors (1/2)
asv.bsky.social
riwritesatnight.bsky.social
Bella Melardi
Carrie Farrar
Chris Kads
Jade Cox
John Masterson
Katie Larson
ligerlillie.bsky.social
Our Contributors (1/2)
asv.bsky.social
riwritesatnight.bsky.social
Bella Melardi
Carrie Farrar
Chris Kads
Jade Cox
John Masterson
Katie Larson
ligerlillie.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Happy Halloween! Special Issue 2: Health Scares is out now! Read the issue here: flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/special-issu...
Our Contributors (1/2)
asv.bsky.social
riwritesatnight.bsky.social
Bella Melardi
Carrie Farrar
Chris Kads
Jade Cox
John Masterson
Katie Larson
ligerlillie.bsky.social
Our Contributors (1/2)
asv.bsky.social
riwritesatnight.bsky.social
Bella Melardi
Carrie Farrar
Chris Kads
Jade Cox
John Masterson
Katie Larson
ligerlillie.bsky.social
Thank you to @flaremagazine.bsky.social for publishing my CNF "Jump Scare My Heart" in their special Halloween issue!
flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
#chronicillness
#disability
#halloween
flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
#chronicillness
#disability
#halloween
October 31, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Thank you to @flaremagazine.bsky.social for publishing my CNF "Jump Scare My Heart" in their special Halloween issue!
flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
#chronicillness
#disability
#halloween
flaremagazinecom.wordpress.com/jump-scare-m...
#chronicillness
#disability
#halloween
Turn off the TV, stop your scroll, and go outside to enjoy some make-believe goblins instead of the real ones on the news channel.
And have a Snickers. You’re not you when you’re hangry.
#Halloween
#Mentalhealth
#SeasonalDepression
Happy Halloween!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
And have a Snickers. You’re not you when you’re hangry.
#Halloween
#Mentalhealth
#SeasonalDepression
Happy Halloween!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Happy Halloween!
Ghouls and Goblins aren't even the scariest part of it.
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Turn off the TV, stop your scroll, and go outside to enjoy some make-believe goblins instead of the real ones on the news channel.
And have a Snickers. You’re not you when you’re hangry.
#Halloween
#Mentalhealth
#SeasonalDepression
Happy Halloween!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
And have a Snickers. You’re not you when you’re hangry.
#Halloween
#Mentalhealth
#SeasonalDepression
Happy Halloween!
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
My thoughts on the ongoing American Hostage Situation.
#resist
Sick and Hungry is No Way to Live
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#resist
Sick and Hungry is No Way to Live
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Sick and Hungry is No Way to Live
This is a Hostage Situation
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
My thoughts on the ongoing American Hostage Situation.
#resist
Sick and Hungry is No Way to Live
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#resist
Sick and Hungry is No Way to Live
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
A fun seasonal rom-com with just a touch of spice!
#Halloween
#writingcommunity
#spookyseason
#booksky
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#Halloween
#writingcommunity
#spookyseason
#booksky
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Swept Off Her Feet
A seasonal bit of fiction
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:32 PM
A fun seasonal rom-com with just a touch of spice!
#Halloween
#writingcommunity
#spookyseason
#booksky
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#Halloween
#writingcommunity
#spookyseason
#booksky
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
A fun seasonal rom-com with just a touch of spice!
#spookyseason
#booksky
#PSL
Swept Off Her Feet
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#spookyseason
#booksky
#PSL
Swept Off Her Feet
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Swept Off Her Feet
A seasonal bit of fiction
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:31 PM
A fun seasonal rom-com with just a touch of spice!
#spookyseason
#booksky
#PSL
Swept Off Her Feet
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#spookyseason
#booksky
#PSL
Swept Off Her Feet
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Today is a good day to lead with love.
#NoKings
#Resist
What If We Just Loved Each Other?
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#NoKings
#Resist
What If We Just Loved Each Other?
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
What If We Just Loved Each Other?
Today, October 18th, is a day of nationwide protest.
open.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Today is a good day to lead with love.
#NoKings
#Resist
What If We Just Loved Each Other?
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#NoKings
#Resist
What If We Just Loved Each Other?
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
The surgery was the easy part. The real struggle was in the recovery.
Never before published details on the nitty gritty side of transplant and recovery.
#chronicillness
#Disability
#transplant
What Happened After the Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Never before published details on the nitty gritty side of transplant and recovery.
#chronicillness
#Disability
#transplant
What Happened After the Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
What Happened After the Transplant
A look behind the curtain
open.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The surgery was the easy part. The real struggle was in the recovery.
Never before published details on the nitty gritty side of transplant and recovery.
#chronicillness
#Disability
#transplant
What Happened After the Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Never before published details on the nitty gritty side of transplant and recovery.
#chronicillness
#Disability
#transplant
What Happened After the Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation."
We Are All Living Lives of Quiet Desperation
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#poverty
#addiction
We Are All Living Lives of Quiet Desperation
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#poverty
#addiction
We Are All Living Lives of Quiet Desperation
Henry David Thoreau famously stated,
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:18 PM
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation."
We Are All Living Lives of Quiet Desperation
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#poverty
#addiction
We Are All Living Lives of Quiet Desperation
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#poverty
#addiction
Grateful to share that my CNF "Jump Scare My Heart" will be published in @flaremagazine.bsky.social Health Scares issue on Halloween!
A spooky story about my NDE and becoming a temporary ghost. Thank you editor Kelly Esparza!
#writingcommunity
#chronicillness
#disability
#spookyseason
A spooky story about my NDE and becoming a temporary ghost. Thank you editor Kelly Esparza!
#writingcommunity
#chronicillness
#disability
#spookyseason
October 7, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Grateful to share that my CNF "Jump Scare My Heart" will be published in @flaremagazine.bsky.social Health Scares issue on Halloween!
A spooky story about my NDE and becoming a temporary ghost. Thank you editor Kelly Esparza!
#writingcommunity
#chronicillness
#disability
#spookyseason
A spooky story about my NDE and becoming a temporary ghost. Thank you editor Kelly Esparza!
#writingcommunity
#chronicillness
#disability
#spookyseason
Seven years ago today, my life began anew.
Thanks to the generosity of an organ donor and her family.
#donatelife
#hearttransplant
#transplant
The Day I Got My Heart Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Thanks to the generosity of an organ donor and her family.
#donatelife
#hearttransplant
#transplant
The Day I Got My Heart Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
The Day I Got My Heart Transplant
This week, I’m taking you through the buildup to my second heart transplant in October 2018.
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Seven years ago today, my life began anew.
Thanks to the generosity of an organ donor and her family.
#donatelife
#hearttransplant
#transplant
The Day I Got My Heart Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Thanks to the generosity of an organ donor and her family.
#donatelife
#hearttransplant
#transplant
The Day I Got My Heart Transplant
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Welcome to my favorite week of the year! This week is the anniversary of my second heart transplant, and so much more! Come celebrate with me.
#chronicillness
#disability
#hearttransplant
#transplant
#donatelife
Transplant Week Celebration
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#hearttransplant
#transplant
#donatelife
Transplant Week Celebration
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
Transplant Week Celebration
Happy Birthday to my Heart!
open.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Welcome to my favorite week of the year! This week is the anniversary of my second heart transplant, and so much more! Come celebrate with me.
#chronicillness
#disability
#hearttransplant
#transplant
#donatelife
Transplant Week Celebration
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...
#chronicillness
#disability
#hearttransplant
#transplant
#donatelife
Transplant Week Celebration
open.substack.com/pub/dawnlevi...