Join us as we hear from noted author, Jeanne Marie Laskas talk about her two most recent books, To Obama, With Love, Joy, Anger, and Hope, and Concussion. Ms. Laskas will be interviewed by friend and Pittsburgh leader Sally Wiggin. A book signing will follow. OLLI Members should Register online or by calling 412-624-7308. Guests are permitted, but must also be registered.
President Barack Obama received ten thousand letters a day from his constituents. This is the story of the private and profound relationship with letter writers that shaped his presidency. In To Obama, Jeanne Marie Laskas interviews President Obama, the letter writers themselves, and the White House staff who sifted through the powerful, moving, and incredibly intimate narrative of America during the Obama years
Taut, gripping, and gorgeously told, Concussion is the stirring true story of one unlikely man’s courageous decision to stand up to a multibillion-dollar colossus bent on silencing him, and to tell the world the truth. What began as an article for GQ, the story of young forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu went on to become a book and inspire a major motion picture.
Jeanne Marie Laskas is the author of eight books. She is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, a correspondent at GQ, and a two-time National Magazine Award finalist in Feature Writing. Her stories have also appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Esquire. Her other books include Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work (Putnam, 2012) and a trilogy of memoirs. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, including Best American Magazine Writing 2008 and Best American Sportswriting 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010 and 2012. Her 2007 essay “Underworld” was also nominated for a National Magazine Award. Jeanne Marie serves as serves as Distinguished Professor of English and Founding Director of the Center for Creativity at the University of Pittsburgh. She lives on a horse farm with her husband and two daughters.
Recently retired, for almost four decades Sally Wiggin has been a trusted face of Pittsburgh news. In addition to her many awards for broadcasting and her hosting duties on “Chronicle” which won a pretitgious national George Foster Peabody Award in 2016, Wiggins has receved many honors for her tireless work in the Pittsburgh nonprofit community.