Gottlieb, Dr. Dan — Quadriplegia: A Struggle to Live

Letters to Sam:A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss and the Gifts of Life

For most people, the desire to be known exceeds the desire to be loved. Who we are as individuals, how we reckon with our personal abilities and disabilities the topic of this edition of Radio Curious, a conversation with my friend Dr. Dan Gottlieb.

Dan Gottlieb, a clinical psychologist who lives and works near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lives with quadriplegia, paralyzed from the neck down as a result of an automobile accident in 1979. He is the host of “Voices in the Family,” a weekly public radio program originating from WHYY in Philadelphia and the author of two articles a month in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Because of his physical condition, Dan thought he may not live to see his young grandson Sam grow to be man. When Sam was diagnosed with a severe form of autism several years ago, Dan decided to write a series of letters to his grandson.

His book “Letter’s to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss and the Gifts of Life,” is a collection of the thirty-two intimate and compassionate letters sharing Dan’s thoughts, observations and experiences gained from his 27 years with quadriplegia, and his professional life as a clinical psychologist.

Dr. Dan Gottlieb and I visited by phone from his in mid April 2006.

The books Dr. Gottlieb recommends are “Eat, Pray and Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything, Across Italy, India and Indonesia,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, and “Life of Pi,” by Yann Martel.

Originally Broadcast: April 12, 2006

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Gottlieb, Dr. Dan — Our Body Holds Our Life’s Truth

Dr. Dan Gottlieb is a psychotherapist, author and host of Voices in the Family, a weekly public radio program originating from WHYY in Philadelphia.  In 1980, half his life ago, a wheel from a large truck crushed his car and he has been a quadriplegic ever since.

In this interview, we discuss his current work and physical condition.  He describes a recent severe accident where he was thrown from his wheelchair on the way to his first class to be a stand-up comic, and suffered a concussion and paralysis of his left arm.  Although the pain in his arm remains, he says, “it’s just an arm.”

In this program, Dr. Gottlieb describes how trauma changes human hormones and human wiring; and how the body holds the truth of our lives, without judgment or narrative; and his current work to teach compassion to oneself and others. This program was recorded by phone from his home near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 2013, and is a sequel to his other Radio Curious interviews.

The books Dan Gottlieb recommends are: “Self Compassion: A Healthier Way of Relating to Yourself,” by Kristin Neff and “Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation,” by Sharon Salzberg.

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Parrish, Will — Tree Sit to Protest Highway Bypass

Journalism and civil disobedience is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. Our guest is Mendocino County journalist, Will Parrish, a graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a major in Sociology and Social Change and a minor in Journalism. Currently, he describes himself as a “social change activist/journalist.”

In this interview recorded in the studios of Radio Curious May 27th, 2013, Will Parrish describes some of his past experiences as a journalist and continues with his story of why he sat in a tree for a week near Willits, Ca as an act of civil disobedience to protest the building of a highway.

The book Will Parrish recommends is “The Merry Adventurers of Robin Hood” by Howard Pyle.

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