Making Connections, Part 4 of 4
This is a digital event. You should receive information in your ticket or from the host about how to join online.
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Long before COVID, people in the U.S. and across the world have struggled with loneliness, isolation, and lack of social connection. In 2023, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend. And months later, journalist Allison Gilbert reported for the New York Times about the appointment of world-renowned therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the country. Reimagine and Allison are co-hosting a new series to learn about strategies to build deeper connections, particularly among the most vulnerable.
At the final conversation of this series, Allison will be joined by Anna Quindlen (bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) and Dr. Tasha Golden (Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) for a special conversation about the impact creativity has on our mental health and overall wellbeing. Everyone is welcome and to bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and–at our own pace– actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
Speakers
Anna Quindlen’s latest book, After Annie, is a novel about grief and connection, family and friendship, and the power of love to transcend feelings of isolation that often follow the death of a loved one. She is also the author of many bestselling books including the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Rise and Shine, the #1 bestselling memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life. Her other novels include Object Lessons, Blessings, One True Thing, the Oprah Book Club Selection Black and Blue, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller’s Valley, and Alternate Side. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.
Her national bestseller, Write for Your Life, explores the many ways putting words to the page is healing and transformative and a critical means to find community. Using examples from past, present, and future — from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison, from love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today — Write for Your Life vividly illuminates the ways in which writing connects us to ourselves and to those we cherish. Drawing on her personal experiences not just as a writer but as a mother and daughter, Quindlen makes the case that recording our daily lives in writing is essential.
Tasha Golden, PhD is an international speaker, health scientist, and career songwriter. Currently Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Golden’s work has investigated the health and well-being impacts of arts, culture, and creativity—not only for individuals, but for communities, workplaces, and societies. Golden has served as an advisor on several national and international health initiatives, and is adjunct faculty for the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine. Recently she led the pilot evaluation of CultureRx in Massachusetts: the first arts-on-prescription model in the U.S.
Holding a PhD in Public Health Sciences, Golden is also a career artist and entrepreneur. As singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Ellery, she toured full-time for many years, and her songs appear in feature films and TV dramas (ABC, SHOWTIME, FOX, NETFLIX, etc.). She is the author of Once You Had Hands (Humanist Press) and founder of Project Uncaged: a creative writing program for incarcerated girls that supports self-expression and elevates girls’ voices. Golden’s unique background drives her success as a speaker and thought leader. Her keynotes and workshops help creatives, cause-driven brands, nonprofit leaders, academics, and healthcare providers enhance and reimagine their work. As a consultant, she helps organizations apply the science of arts, creativity, and wellbeing to further their goals.
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s “Making Connections” and “Passed and Present” conversation series and co-author with Dr. Ruth Westheimer of the forthcoming book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life (Rodale: October 22, 2024). Pre-order The Joy of Connections here.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
