A New Book by Karen Duffy
Available everywhere!
Oprah’s #10 Most Anticipated
Book of 2022
“These profound and inspiring life lessons are delivered as a series of letters to her son, and they are as erudite and as entertaining as the former MTV VJ herself.”
Hey!
I’m Karen Duffy as a cartoon chimpanzee…
Karen Duffy has done it all – 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, in donkeys and at furry conventions.
The result is Wise Up, a funny, illuminating book of letters to her son Jack that will squeeze the reader’s heart tighter than an anaconda. Duffy offers advice to parents, teens and everyone on building a friend group that is weasel-free, celebrating the many types of love, and determining how much to duke the waiter (as with everything—be generous!). Wise Up asks the question, if you were able to watch a film of your life, from birth to death, what would it take for you to jump out of your chair, start pumping your fists in the air and shout “Yes, this is it! This is a good life! This is a life well lived!”? Duffy finds the answers in philosophers as varied as the mummified head of Jeremy Bentham, the Monkey Busters of Japan and her Uncle Golden Toe–as well as the great Stoic thinkers such as Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca.
There are times in life when you need the wisdom of a philosopher. And there are times when you need the kind of enlightenment that only a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen can give. Wise Up proves that philosophy can be entertaining, and outrageous stories about pirates, misbehaving rock stars, and naked water-skiers can contain great insights.
“Reading Wise Up put a smile on my face. This book will change lives. Duffy writes seriously important books that she doesn’t take too seriously. I guess that’s the secret. Read this book or you will miss it.”
“Wise Up is a modern and hilarious interpretation of Stoic wisdom presented in compulsively readable letters. It is a captivating guide for living a life of purpose and leaves you with the unshakable belief that beautiful choices make a beautiful life.”
Karen Duffy
Karen Duffy is the New York Times bestselling author of Model Patient. She has been a columnist for the New York Daily News and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine and is a contributing editor at Airmail. She is a member in good standing of Modern Stoicism and has been a featured speaker at Stoicon. Duffy lives with her husband John Lambros, her son Jack Lambros, and her donkeys Jake and Mason.
Francis Gasparini
Francis Gasparini has been a writer for more than 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, Fernando Andrade, and Ryan White; Gasparini’s 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.
Praise & Press
Wise Up Blog
Five Questions: Donald Robertson
Author, therapist, philosopher, and bon vivant Donald Robertson was kind enough to answer our questions. His new graphic novel, "Verissimus," is published on July 12--buy it! https://www.amazon.com/Verissimus-Stoic-Philosophy-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/1250270952 or wherever...
To the Salisbury School Class of 2022
Duff had the honor of giving the commencement address at her son Jack's graduation. The text is below. Good Morning, thank you for this honor. Hello Class of 2022, You come from a long line of survivors. You are the latest link in an unbroken chain of ancestors. The...
Helping Hands Monkeys
Helping hands monkeys are absolutely incredible. They are trained to assist humans who have limited use of their own appendages. These tiny simians can retrieve items, cook, and even bathe their human companions. I don't want to deprive anyone who really needs one,...
Jack and Mason
Jack and Mason are philosophical donkeys. They focus on what they can control and don't fret about the rest. They can't read "Wise Up," but they can eat it! They prefer carrots, though, and I give them plenty. I always make sure to give them extra so they come running...
The Ehfurt Latrine Disaster
The core principle of Stoicism is that we can't control what happens, we can only control our response to it. Yet, as a Stoic. I'm struggling to imagine how I would respond to the floor collapsing under me, causing me to fall into a cesspool with 60 of my closest...
The Imp of the Perverse
Edgar Allan Poe wrote a short story called “The Imp of the Perverse,” in which the narrator identifies his urge to act recklessly as caused by a creature he calls Imp. This is a radical and primitive impulse within all humans. The Imp is the little fellow who advises...