Kristina Kasparian, PhD
Hi, I’m Kristina
I’m a multicultural writer, health activist and entrepreneur with a PhD in neurolinguistics.
I’ve always been a little “different”. I’m freakishly intuitive and have often been told I feel too much. I have synesthesia, a neurological quirk that means my brain fires colors at me all day long. I grew up in Montreal, in Canada’s French-speaking province of Québec, where I was raised by Armenian parents and grandparents who immigrated from Egypt and instilled their definitions of resilience in me. These traits have had a huge impact on how I navigate this world. I constantly feel the magic and curse of being an outlier.
Since childhood, I’ve suffered greatly from endometriosis and adenomyosis, disabling conditions that the medical system consistently fails to recognize and treat in the whole-body neuroimmunological approach that is sorely needed. I use my voice to bridge the doctor-patient gap, improve standards of healthcare, and help people reclaim their quality of life despite the chronic grief of dismissal and disability. I collaborate with global organizations, activists, and healthcare providers to move the needle in how endometriosis, adenomyosis, infertility, and related immunological dysfunctions are discussed, diagnosed, and treated, both in medicine and society.
In my writing, I like to challenge never-give-up society in which women’s pain is normalized, grief and illness must be swiftly overcome, ambivalence to motherhood is a defect, and the vulnerability of intended parents through surrogacy is tragically underestimated. Since 2023, my writing has been published by Condé Nast, Travel & Leisure, SELF, Roxane Gay, Electric Literature, Longreads, The Rumpus, HuffPost, NY Post, CNN, Elle, Fodor’s, Newsweek, Business Insider, BUST, Catapult, the Globe & Mail, and elsewhere. In 2025, I was awarded a top prize in Writer’s Digest’s Annual Competition and a non-fiction prize by Plentitudes. I’ve been fortunate to be a finalist in several nonfiction competitions, including two of Roxane Gay’s essay competitions and CRAFT’s Memoir Prize. My Substack “The Alba Journals” is a blend of cultural criticism and self-questioning.
I am querying a lyrical memoir-in-fragments about reassembling self and marriage while navigating PTSD caused by systemic abuse in surrogacy, healthcare, and academia.
Since leaving academia to prioritize my wellness, I have been running my photography decor shop and working as a freelance consultant, copywriter, and translator for over 150 brands and scientists across North America, Europe, and Asia. I’m also a passionate champion of small businesses in the artistic community. With a small but feisty team, I co-organize impactful and inclusive art fairs, fundraisers, and workshops.
I can often be found escaping to Italy, my second home where I’ve lived on-and-off since my teens. I love retreating to tiny volcanic islands, improvising new recipes, quieting my restless mind in the company of horses, and gardening on my treetop urban terrace.
Other Projects
WRITING
I write about
the pursuit of a fulfilling life,
neurodiversity,
being childfree by choice and not by choice (and somewhere in between),
medical gaslighting, social justice, academia, mental health, chronic grief, travel, entrepreneurship,
multicultural identity,
and disability.
SPEAKING
I speak about
all the same topics
that I write about
at events, on panels and
during media interviews,
but with a lot of
preparation and practice,
extremely cold hands,
and a big knot
in my stomach.
PHOTOGRAPHY
I take pictures of
breathtaking places,
ordinary moments,
and everything in between
as a form of
visual storytelling,
mindfulness and poetry,
and an ode
to life’s
seasons and tides.
Kristina Kasparian, Author, Scientist, Endometriosis Advocate 