Finding Fun and Taking Risks
Happiness is hard to define, but we know it when we feel it. These two North Carolina writers find some fun, often after a hard-won journey, and give us some ideas about how to live with happiness in mind.
About the authors
DR. MIKE RUCKERis an organizational psychologist and charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association whose work has been published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management and Nutrition Research. His ideas about fun and health have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fast Company, The Telegraph, Psychology Today, Forbes, Vox, Thrive Global, mindbodygreen, and more. Named one of ten digital changemakers by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, he currently serves as a senior leader at Active Wellness. READ MORE ABOUT MIKE
LAURA WHITFIELD grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of a journalist and a teacher. She has been an advertising copywriter, newspaper columnist, staff writer for an international relief agency, travel writer, blogger, teacher, communications director for several nonprofits, and a personal assistant to a New York Times bestselling author. Her debut memoir, Untethered: Faith, Failure, and Finding Solid Ground (She Writes Press, 2022) has won multiple awards. Laura lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Stephen. READ MORE ABOUT LAURA
About the Host
Marianne Gingher (“fun” happens to be her middle name) is Professor Emerita of English and Creative writing and taught at UNC-Chapel Hill for more than 40 years. She has published 7 books, both fiction and nonfiction, and her short stories, essays, and book reviews have appeared in numerous periodicals and magazines including The New York Times Book Review, Southern Review, the Oxford American, Our State, North American Review, and the Washington Post Magazine. She is also a puppeteer and with her collaborator Deborah Seabrooke founded Greensboro-based Jabberbox Puppet Theater, a salon-style venue for puppetry. The Curse of Boneface, a new show, will premier in October 2023. Check for more Jabberbox Puppet Theater info on facebook.