Date and Time:
Location:
Address:
Note: Event start time is Central Time (CT).
Lydia Denworth
Award-winning science journalist, author of Friendship, and co-author of Parent Nation.
Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond
The phenomenon of friendship is universal and elemental. Friends, after all, are the family we choose. But what makes these bonds not just pleasant but essential, and how do they affect our bodies and our minds? Award-winning science journalist Lydia Denworth’s Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond is a revelatory investigation of friendship, with profound implications for our understanding of what humans and animals alike need to thrive across a lifetime. Adam Grant, Ph.D. (FAN ’14, ’16) named Friendship one of the best leadership books of 2020.
Denworth takes us in search of friendship’s biological, psychological, and evolutionary foundations. She finds friendship to be as old as early life on the African savannas—when tribes of people grew large enough for individuals to seek fulfillment of their social needs outside their immediate families. She meets scientists at the frontiers of brain and genetics research and discovers that friendship is reflected in our brain waves, our genomes, and our cardiovascular and immune systems; its opposite, loneliness, can kill. Denworth shows how our bodies and minds are designed for friendship across life stages, the processes by which healthy social bonds are developed and maintained, and how friendship is changing in the age of social media.
Denworth is also co-author, with Dana Suskind, MD (FAN ’15, ’22), of the New York Times bestseller Parent Nation, and has written two other books of popular science: I Can Hear You Whisper and Toxic Truth. Her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, and many other publications.
This event suitable for youth 12+.
NOTE: No registration or proof of vaccination is required. Masks are recommended but not required. Parking available in lots at RDHS and Wilmette Junior High School.
Event Sponsors
- Barrington D220
- Beacon Academy
- Catherine Cook School
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Evanston Township High School D202
- Family Service Center
- Family Service of Glencoe
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Latin School of Chicago
- Leo Catholic High School
- Loyola Academy
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- New Trier High School D203
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Sacred Heart Schools
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- The Alliance for Early Childhood
- The Avery Coonley School
- The Cove School
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Wolcott College Prep
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
Upcoming Events
The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature
Alan Lightman, Ph.D.
Professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT and author of seven novels
Dacher Keltner, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center, and bestselling author
ON ZOOM
The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions
Michael Norton, Ph.D.
Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Sam Sommers, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Racial Equity and Diversity Lab at Tufts University
ON ZOOM
