Pat Shapiro specializes in writing and speaking on women’s issues with a interest in the midlife years and beyond, women’s friendships and yoga. Initially her interest in these subjects grew out of her social work education and ten years in the field. When she turned to writing, that social work background served as the foundation for her work.
Whether writing, speaking or teaching, she strives to help people discover and express their authentic selves. That is clearly the theme in her two latest books, The Privilege of Aging: Portraits of Twelve Jewish Women (Gaon Books) and Coming Home to Yourself: Eighteen Wise Women Reflect on Their Journeys (Gaon Books).
Shapiro's three books on women’s midlife issues grew out of her own personal experience: YOGA FOR WOMEN AT MIDLIFE & BEYOND: A Home Companion (Sunstone Press); HEART TO HEART: Deepening Women's Friendships at Midlife (Berkley Books); and My Turn: Women’s Search for Self After the Children Leave (Peterson’s: hardback, 1996; paperback, 1997), which was inspired by the many emotions and changes she experienced after her son and daughter left home. The idea for Heart to Heart: Deepening Friendships Between Women at Midlife (Berkley Books), actually developed as she was researching My Turn. As she interviewed women about the changes in their lives since they launched their children, many talked about how their friendships had deepened. They had more time and energy for friends and realized, from their midlife perspective, how precious true friends are.
Shapiro's earlier books focused on subjects that interested her professionally but did not develop out of her personal experience. They are A Parent's Guide to Childhood and Adolescent Depression (Dell, 1994); Women, Mentors and Success (with coauthor) (Fawcett Columbine, 1992) and Caring for the Mentally Ill (Franklin Watts, 1982). She has written feature articles that have appeared in New Woman, New Choices, First for Women, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Inquirer, Inside, Baltimore Sun Magazine and many other publications.
She is a writing instructor and coach and works one-on-one with individuals who want private editorial consultations about their writing.
Besides writing and teaching, Shapiro's other passion is yoga. She began taking classes in the early 1990s and has been teaching since 1999, and she specializes in yoga for older women in her classes in Santa Fe. She has also done an intensive yoga study at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India. She says that through teaching she shares her love of yoga with others, and daily practice centers and grounds her while studying with a wise teacher keeps her humble and reminds her how much she has to learn. Both yoga and writing offer ways to deepen her self-understanding, continue growing, live consciously, and share what she has learned with others.
Click to Hear Interview with Patricia Gottlieb Shapiro
Click for Second Interview
Awards and Recognitions
Best Book - Yoga for Women at Midlife & Beyond: A Home Companion
Finalist Best Book - Coming Home to Yourself
For more information about her work
Go to
www.gaonbooks.com/PrivilegeAging.html
and
wisewomenalive.com
Gaon Books
P.O. Box 23924
Santa Fe, NM 87502
505.920.7771
gaonbooks@gmail.com
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