Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest, Dr. Barbara Hudson Roberts author of The Doctor Broad: A Mafia Love Story [Heliotrope Books, September 3, 2019], the memoir of Dr. Roberts.

Dr. Roberts was the first female adult cardiologist in the state of Rhode Island. She graduated from Barnard College and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

As a resident at Yale New Haven Hospital, she became active in the pro-choice movement, before Roe v Wade made abortion legal. She helped found the Women’s National Abortion Action Coalition (WONAAC) and was the keynote speaker at the first national pro-choice demonstration in Washington DC in November 1971.

She also was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement, and spoke at the last mass anti-war demonstration on the grounds of the Washington Monument on the day of Nixon’s inauguration in 1973. She was a staff physician at Planned Parenthood for many years, and continues on the voluntary faculty at Brown where she is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine.

Norm: Good day Dr. Roberts and thanks for participating in our interview:

You’ve lived in two separate worlds. One, as the secret lover of an alleged organized crime figure and the physician whose testimony prevented the head of the New England Mafia from having to go to trial.

Another, as a single mother of three, busy female doctor at a time where there were not that many, and an active feminist. What was the most important thing you learned about balancing your personal life and upholding your professional reputation?

Dr. Roberts: Balancing my personal life while upholding my professional reputation required that I had to fiercely protect my privacy while assuring absolute honesty and integrity in my actions as a physician. Everything I testified about my most famous patient had to be unassailably correct. On a personal front, I had to hide one of the most important relationships in my life. This created incredible stress.

Norm: You grew up the oldest in a family of ten children, in a devout Catholic household but came of age and transformed into an outspoken feminist, speaker at mass anti-war demonstrations, pro-choice activist, and an atheist. Why did you decide to leave the church?

Dr. Roberts: I left the Catholic Church over its stance on birth control and abortion. I realized that I could not be the kind of physician I was determined to be if I was subject to endless pregnancies, as my mother had been. I also saw the devastation to women's lives as a result of their not having access to safe, legal abortions. I became a conscious feminist and came to realize that all monotheistic religions are inherently misogynistic; all oppress women.

Norm: You helped pave the way for women’s rights, including abortion. Today, women’s rights are under attack again. If you were going to speak on today’s political climate, what are the most important points you want to say in defense of women and also to motivate more to get involved?

Dr.Roberts: Women's rights are under fierce attack. In one way, I think (and hope) this represents the last gasp of a corrupt and heinous patriarchy. On the other hand, to combat this, women, particularly young women, need to educate themselves about what is actually at stake: their ability to be fully realized human beings. If every woman realized this, they would be motivated to become politically active. Women don't need defense, they need equal rights and equal opportunities.

Norm: What did your experiences in Family Court with the fathers of your children teach you about the judicial system?

Dr. Roberts: My experiences in Family Court with the fathers of my children taught me that we only think our children are ours. At the drop of a hat, the judicial system can (and does, witness what has gone on at the Mexican border) wrest your children from your arms at a moment's notice, without any prior notification to you, or giving you a chance to respond to false accusations.

Norm: You were the second woman accepted as a Medical Intern at University Hospitals of Cleveland, the first female Gorlin Fellow in Cardiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the first female adult cardiologist to practice in Rhode Island. Why did you become a doctor at a time when all the odds were against females- especially mothers- working in medicine?

Dr. Roberts: I became a doctor because I couldn't become a priest! My father worshiped priests and doctors, and I knew I didn't have a prayer of becoming a priest so I decided to be a doctor. I also had a love of science, and was still a good Catholic girl when I decided to study medicine - being a doctor would allow me to practice one of the cardinal works of mercy: visiting the sick.

Norm: You faced moral dilemmas with the men you loved. Do you regret following your heart instead of your head?

Dr. Roberts: I don't regret following my heart instead of my head. I became a much stronger person as a result of my relationship with Louis. I also became a better doctor by taking care of Raymond, in that I put his welfare ahead of my own, even though I paid a price.

Norm: What has been your greatest challenge (professionally) that you’ve overcome in getting to where you’re at today?

Dr. Roberts: My greatest challenge professionally was first of all to get accepted to medical school (the vast majority of medical schools in the 1960's limited women to 10% of any class) and then, once I graduated and began graduate training, to convince faculty members that I could do the job, despite being a mother of a small child.

One interviewer to medical school said to me: "Why should we give you a place in the freshman class when you'll probably just get married, have kids and drop out?"

Another interviewer who was evaluating my application to be a medical intern said: "Barbara, you have better credentials than 90% of our applicants but I can tell you there will be more controversy over accepting you into this internship than over anyone else because they will be afraid you'll get pregnant and have another child." My response was: "I won't promise not to get pregnant during internship, but I promise not to deliver during internship." (I kept my promise, delivering 6 weeks after the completion of my internship and starting my residency within a month.)

Once in practice, there were physicians who would not refer to a female cardiologist,  but luckily, not everyone felt that way. However, throughout my practice, most of my patients came to me because I took care of a family member and they liked the care that person received.

Norm: What motivated you to write your Memoir? What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?  

Norm: What was the most difficult part about writing your Memoir?

Dr. Roberts: The most difficult part of writing the memoir was reliving so many traumatic events, and trying to explain why I made the choices I did, even when they came at great personal cost, or impacted negatively on my children.

I like to say it's the things that you least expect to happen to you that wind up happening to you. I certainly never expected to be one of the main defenders of a notorious mafia boss, nor the mistress of another mafioso, nor the lover of someone who was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus ten years in prison. Those weren't the kinds of things my devout Catholic upbringing prepared me for. And yet they happened to me, and I managed to survive and prosper.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and The Doctor Broad: A Mafia Love Story?

Dr. Roberts:

Amazon.com

Facebook 

Instagram

Twitter

MY WEBSITE

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors