Award-Winning Author, NY Times Book Editor to Speak in Summit

Two authors – one an award-winning writer whose new book was named by The Washington Post as “one of the Best Feel Good Books of the Year,” and the other a New York Times Book Review editor – will speak at an event at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at 7 p.m.

Oak Knoll alumnae and classmates – Terri Trespicio ’91 and Elisabeth Egan ’91 — will discuss Trespicio’s new book, Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life that Matters to You (Atria/Simon & Schuster, December 2021). Every person on the planet wants their life to mean something. The problem is you’ve been told there’s only one way to do that: Find a singular passion and commit to it — for life. Except this isn’t how it happens, and the follow-your-passion advice often comes up short. With a blend of scientific research, compelling insights, and powerful storytelling, Unfollow Your Passion, gives you the tools you need (and the permission you crave) to toss the old advice, and lay claim to the life that’s been yours the whole time — so that you can begin to live it on your terms.

The speaking event is free and open to the public at Oak Knoll School in Summit. Pre-registration is suggested to secure your seat. The event is sponsored by Oak Knoll’s Hickman Family Speaker Series, which was established in 2000 by J. Kenneth and Irene Hickman so that accomplished writers (fiction, non-fiction, journalism, poetry, or other genre) can address students, faculty, and the public about the writing experience.

Terri Trespicio is an award-winning writer, speaker, brand advisor, and author of Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life That Matters to You (Atria / Simon & Schuster, December 2021)—named “One of the Best Feel Good Books of the Year” by The Washington Post. Her TEDx talk, “Stop Searching for Your Passion,” has more than 7 million views and Hubspot named her one of the “Top 18 female speakers who are killing it.” A former magazine editor and radio host at Martha Stewart, she has appeared on the Today show, Dr. Oz, The Early Show, The Anderson Cooper Show — as well as Oprah magazine, Inc.com, and Business Insider. A national conference speaker Terri was rated #1 by attendees at Barron’s and How Design Live—and has performed stand-up comedy all over New York City. A certified facilitator in the Gateless Writing Method, Terri leads workshops for helping people tap their best ideas. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Emerson College, won first place for creative nonfiction in the Baltimore Review’s 2016 literary contest. Terri lives in Manhattan. More at territrespicio.com.

Elisabeth Egan is an editor at the New York Times Book Review and author A Window Opens, a novel told from the perspective of a lifelong book lover. She was Glamour’s books editor for six years and was the co-writer and co-host of “Broken Harts,” a narrative nonfiction podcast about two mothers who drove their six children off a cliff in 2018. She is a former senior editor at Amazon Publishing and books editor at Self magazine, and earlier in her career worked about both Workman Publishing and Simon & Schuster. Her book reviews and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Glamour, O, Real Simple and People.