UCSB Arts & Lectures will host author and TED presenter Emily Esfahani Smith delivering a free public talk called The Power of Meaning: Making Your Life, Work and Relationships Matter at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 30, at UCSB Campbell Hall.
There is more to life than searching for happiness, said Smith, author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life that Matters.
A positive psychology instructor and an editor at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Smith said she finds that pursuing meaning in life is ultimately more fulfilling than chasing happiness. Drawing on psychology, philosophy and literature, she points the way toward a richer life.
Smith writes about the human experience — why we are the way we are and how we can find grace and meaning in a world that is full of suffering. Her articles There’s More to Life than Being Happy and Masters of Love, first published in The Atlantic, have been read more than 30 million times.
A limited number of Smith’s book The Power of Meaning will be given away through the Thematic Learning Initiative. Books will also be available for purchase and signing at the event.
Smith’s writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Time and other publications.
As an editor at the Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Smith manages the Ben Franklin Circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y and Citizen University to build meaning in local communities.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Smith grew up in Montreal, Canada. She graduated from Dartmouth College and earned a master of applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C.
In a related event, there will be a free author discussion with Smith at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 E. Anapamu St.
Event sponsors for Smith’s talk are Hollye and Jeff Jacobs.
For more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 893-3535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
— Caitlin O’Hara for UCSB Arts & Lectures.