Karen Duffy & Francis Gasparini - Wising Up

Mental Health Comedy

Two multi-talented people; Karen and Francis have collaborated on a number of books and we talk about their latest WISE UP https://wiseupstoic.com/wise-up/ It’s about building a life worth living inspired by ancient philosophy, and told in letters to Duff’s teenage son Jack. What does modern day Stoicism look like? How does it relate to parenting, to self talk, helping and connecting with others? Asking for a friend. When you’re in survival mode, it can be a challenge to think about these things. To boldly going beyond survival in today’s world, it’s the new Star Trek. Duff also talks about living with pain from a chronic illness. We talk about parenting and how this kind of philosophy finds it’s way into Duff’s home and Francis with his daughter. Jennifer tells us “When kids learn from a phone, they’re getting Dopamine, when they learn from their parents, they’re getting Serotonin.” Serotonin, makes you feel more focused, emotionally stable, happier and calmer. Dopamine, gives you a sense of pleasure, and when it fades, you want to do something to get it again. A little background: Karen has been a model, MTV VJ, actress, correspondent for the Emmy-winning TV Nation, host of HBO’s “The Buzz,” Community Emergency Response Team member, a creator of the Tell a Joke to the Pope campaign, movie producer, and Buddist hospital chaplain. None of it prepared her fully for motherhood. Raising her son Jack, she drew on reserves of wisdom she found in the strangest of places–in the ancient Greek Stoic philosophers. Duff lives with her husband John Lambros, her son Jack Lambros, and her donkeys Jake and Mason. Francis has been a writer for more that 30 years and has worked with Karen Duffy for most of that time. With Duff, he’s written the New York Times bestseller “Model Patient,” “Backbone,” and now “Wise Up.” He’s also had extensive experience in documentary film and television. He has worked with documentarians including Michael Moore, RJ Cutler, Davis Guggenheim and many others. His films have premiered at Sundance and SXSW. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer, daughter Maria Lucia, and a crazy dog named Petunia. More Karen here: @duffynyc More Francis here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1007061/ and all the skills and thrills of Jennifer and her amazing org https://connectedparenting.com/ #Lookforthegood