Iris Zink

Hi! I am Iris Zink, RN, ANP, Nurse Practitioner. I have been in Rheumatology since 2000. I am the past president of the Rheumatology Nurses Society. I have traveled and lectured on a variety of topics, but by far the most popular lecture I give is about how chronic illness and disability can affect intimacy. Frequently after my lecture, audience members will come up to me and say "I wish you had a book that covers this material!"

That is why I wrote Sex--Interrupted: Ingniting Intimacy While Living with Illness or Disability, with the help of my co-author, Jenny Palter, whom I met when she interviewed me for an article in Lupus Now magazine in 2014. I am not a writer but Jenny Palter is. I am just passionate about helping people maintain NORMALCY despite illness. Intimacy is an important part of NORMALCY for everyone.

In 2016, my husband Chris and I opened the first Nurse Practitioner-run early arthritis clinic in MIchigan to provide access to care for people who are uninsured or under-insured. It is my greatest hope that this book will help people who are having intimacy challenges related to health changes.

Besides my work at our clinic, I am adjunct faculty at Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University, and a mom of five wonderful young women: Madelyn, Lilly, Gloria, Brittany and Zorah.