Join us for a special event...

Lisa Napoli in conversation with Eric Weiner

Shangri-la meets bliss

Happiness, Happy Places, Travel, Random Coincidences,
the Media & the Meaning of Life

Tuesday, March 6, 8pm

(doors open at 7pm for light refreshments)

Track 16 Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica

2525 Michigan Avenue, Bldg. C-1

Santa Monica, CA 90403

Before she wrote Radio Shangri-La based on her experiences in and around the Kingdom of Bhutan, Lisa Napoli had worked as a journalist in all media:

As a reporter and host for the public radio show Marketplace.  At the New York Times, where she covered the Internet revolution and the cultural impact of technology.  On the air and as a columnist for MSNBC.  And other adventures involving presidential races, home shopping networks, alternatives to prison for non-violent female offenders, and horror films.

Besides learning to swim at age 37, her proudest accomplishment is the open house she holds every Friday night, where she relishes seeing friends befriend one another.

A native of pre-hipster Brooklyn, NY and a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., Napoli currently enjoys her volunteer work, especially with kids.  She’s working to raise money for READGlobal to build libraries in Bhutan.  And she also contributes cultural reports to the legendary public radio station, KCRW (which reminds her a bit of Kuzoo FM in Bhutan, the station that provides the backdrop of Radio Shangri-La.) 

AMY TAN (Joy Luck Club, Saving Fish from Drowning) says:

"Radio Shangri-La grabs you by the heart and takes you on a winding dual journey--into the self and into a fairy tale kingdom known for measuring happiness as its gross domestic product.  Charming, illuminating, and often ironic, this memoir is a continuous discovery of myths and realities in finding deeper personal meaning."

ABRAHAM VERGHESE (Cutting for Stone) says:

"Radio Shangri-La has shades of Pico Iyer and Bruce Chatwin and a similar genius for parachuting the reader into a strange land and culture.  Bhutan has long fascinated me and Radio Shangri-La is the perfect vehicle to get there."

SCOTT TUROW (Presumed Innocent, Innocent) says:

"Radio Shangri-La is a beautiful touching, and deeply compelling memoir by a well-known public radio reporter who arrived in the tranquil kingdom of Bhutan to help establish the nation's first radio station, and as important, to further her own mid-life assessment of a life that felt full of missteps."

 VISIT LISA'S WEBSITE

ERIC WEINER's New York Times bestseller The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World has been translated into eighteen languages. His new book, Man Seeks God, is a worldwide exploration of religions, rich in insight, humor, and heart.

A former correspondent for NPR and the New York Times, Weiner has reported from more than three dozen countries.  Learn more at www.ericweiner.com

To see a video of Lisa Napoli interviewing Eric Weiner, visit here.  See Eric at TEDx here.