Educator and best-selling author Mark Lukach will share lessons he learned about love, support, crisis and self-care in a free talk, 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at Dunn School in Los Olivos.

Lukach wrote “My Lovely Wife In The Psych Ward,” the story of how mental illness redefined his young marriage to Giulia, and ultimately affirmed the power of love.

A psychotic break from his talented, driven and successful wife Giulia came unexpectedly for Lukach. The trials that ensued as the whole family navigated her psychiatric treatment were easily the most traumatic experiences of their lives, and they taught Lukach valuable lessons about love and support.

Copies of Lukach’s book will be available for purchase, and the talk will include a Q&A period, as well as a meet-and-greet with the author.

The Dunn Association, an organization comprised of parent volunteers of the boarding and day school, are bringing Lukach to Dunn’s Cindy Bronfman Leadership Center to help put the COVID-19 pandemic into perspective through his unique lens.

“When my wife was first hospitalized. I had to learn through trial and error how to take care of myself, so I could take care of my partner,” Lukach said. “Now, in 2021, we experience a global trauma in Covid, and I want to share that what I learned about being a caregiver was the exact skillset I needed to tap into as I confronted Covid.

“This won’t be the only trauma of our lives. The best thing to do is be prepared and learn how to take care of ourselves.”

“It’s a special opportunity for the Central Coast to have an author and person of Mark’s caliber and talent here to share his experiences and relate to our own. His compassion, honesty, and coping tools are exactly what we need right now,” said Dunn Head of School Kalyan Balaven.

Lukach’s work has been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Pacific Standard, and Wired. He has shared his story at The Moth Main Stage and at TEDx. He is currently the Ninth Grade Dean at The Athenian School, where he also teaches history. He and his family live in the Bay Area.

Founded in 1957, Dunn School is a boarding and day school for grades 6-12 in Los Olivos.