Often called the “medical Inkling,” R.E. Havard was a Catholic writer, physician, and one of C.S. Lewis’s closest friends. This lecture explores the life and writings of this often-overlooked literary doctor, considering not only his profound influence on C.S. Lewis, but also revealing the riches of his medical imagination. In making room for the soul, Havard’s holistic vision of health articulates a Christian response to mental illness, as well as recognizes the healing power of literature and the arts.

Sarah O’Dell is an M.D.-Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Irvine, where she is the first to complete a Ph.D. in English within a dual M.D.-Ph.D. program. As a future physician-scholar and psychiatrist, she is passionate about how the activity of the imagination — as shaped by literature, faith, and the arts — helps to heal the mind. Reflecting this core interest, her dissertation research presents the first combined study of the early gothic novel, religious studies, and the history of psychiatry. She is also an active C.S. Lewis and Inklings scholar, with a particular focus on Lewis’s friend, physician, and fellow Inkling R.E. Havard. Her current book project — The Medical Inkling — explores Havard’s roles as a physician, Inkling, and Catholic writer, as well as reveals how his medical imagination influenced C.S. Lewis. Her research has previously appeared in Mythlore, VII: Journal of the Marion E. Wade Center, and the Journal of Medical Humanities. She is a recent Harvey Fellow as well as a recipient of the 2023 Andrew Vincent White and Florence Wales White Graduate Student Scholarship.