ANGSTPIRATION (n) – Using Life’s pressures as inspiration; Getting your stories on the page.

ABOUT THE ANGSTPIRATION PROGRAM

The Dalton School. Stuyvesant High School. The National Council of Teachers of English, Yale, UCLA, The New York Public Library, The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers...

Just few of the schools and organizations that know:

Ned Vizzini is the person to bring when you want to get your students writing.

First published at age 15, Ned's unique worldview and hilarious, award-winning books, including Teen Angst? Naaah..., Be More Chill, and It's Kind of A Funny Story, have become fixtures in classrooms across America.

Now, he brings a program that will entertain, electrify, inspire and educate:

"ANGSTPIRATION (n) - Using life’s pressures as inspiration; Getting your stories on the page."

"Do you want to get kids talking about reading and writing? Just have Ned Vizzini come speak at your school. Our kids were emailing at lunch and requesting his book at the library before he even left town!"-Sally Kruger, school librarian, Morenci, MI

Ned started 9th grade with a teal backpack bought by his mother. He navigated two years of classes looking for something to be proud of - anything - while facing the increasingly dangerous pressures of being a teenager. Between extracurricular activities, preparations for college, and sports obligations, being an adolescent today is more like being an overstressed adult than anything else.

That is why students need an outlet. For Ned, it was writing. He began to write his stories as a freshman. They covered bad jobs, failed bands, and hilarious misadventures in love. What struck him was how writing could give him power over his life — how he could take his angst and exorcise it on the page.

"Ned held the students captive with his readings and they swarmed him with questions. The kids were enthralled and laughed hysterically throughout. I’ve been very popular ever since."-Jo Umans, Trevor Day School, NYC

Ned's programs provide students with the tools they need to turn their stresses into writing. He emphasizes technique, storytelling, and observational skills to let students tap into themselves and create writing that responds to their pressures in a creative, constructive way.

"Ned's sense of humor had the group laughing throughout as parents learned worthwhile pointers on raising a bright teenager. It was an absolute joy working with him." -Mary Deem, Ohio Association for Gifted Children

With trademark wit and frankness, Ned shares his own stories – from his books and his life – to illustrate that every bit of personal anxiety can be an opportunity. The things that make your life most insane and difficult... just happened to be the best things to write about!

"Ned Vizzini gave the kind of presentation that event planners hope will happen, one that makes even those just passing through stop and stay to the end. Ned makes it easy to embrace the teen world. He’s truly a find!" —Stacy Leigh, Barnes & Noble, Brooklyn, NY

Not only does Ned show how writing therapeutic and fun, he also is a living example of how it can connect you with those who share your concerns - and maybe even help them.

"It was definitely cool meeting a real live author of a book I like!" —9th grader, West Essex Junior High, North Caldwell, NJ

Ned’s first book, Teen Angst? Naaah..., exemplified the cathartic nature of personal essaying and was quickly adopted into curricula by schools across the country.

His second book, Be More Chill, took a more humorous and ribald look at the teen social scene.

His most recent, It's Kind of A Funny Story, covers a teenager's trip to the psychiatric hospital, directly addressing the pressures and trials he faced in school while demonstrating how even in the darkest situations there is humor and self-expression to be found.

No matter whom the presentations were geared for, college-town students, rural secondary students, or community members, the audience remained enthralled” —Beth McGuire, Secretary, Pennsylvania School Library Association

With just a little work and organization, the difficulties that young people face in school, in college, and in life can be fantastic outlets - and maybe even turn into a career.

Ned's journey from high-school misfit to celebrated author is something that students of any age can take to heart. And although his latest book addresses the darkest side of teen angst, it’s been his most well-reviewed effort to date. Talk about angstpiration!

"What a terrific assembly! Maybe our students won't all go out and write a book, but Ned inspired them to 'go for it,' whatever 'it' may be." -Sue Giordano, teacher, North Caldwell, NJ

ADDITIONAL LECTURE TOPIC

COPING IN A CULTURE OF
UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
my journey through depression

"After reading It's Kind of a Funny Story and the outstanding review of it in The New York Times, I had very high expectations of Ned Vizzini. I must say that Mr. Vizzini's presentation (and his charming personality) far and away exceeded my expectations."
--Vicky Goodman, Founder and President of the Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

How many slackers do you know?

It wasn't so long ago that they seemed an unstoppable blight on our country. But for many people, the image of the listless, no-worries twenty-something has disappeared, replaced by the other extreme--an overworked, hyperactive and uncertain person struggling to stay afloat.

Writer and speaker Ned Vizzini confronted this first-hand. A successful author at 23, he spiraled into depression following the publication of his second book and landed in the psychiatric hospital after calling a suicide hotline. But...

After leaving, he started to write. He wanted to focus on the humor and life present even in the darkest times a person can go through. (After all, one of his hospital mates insisted on being called “Human Being.”) The resulting book, It's Kind of A Funny Story, was called "intimate, real, ironic" by Booklist and, according to the New York Times, "Insightful and utterly authentic... This is an important book."

Now, in "Coping in a Culture of Unrealistic Expectations," Ned speaks about his dip into depression, his hospitalization, and his current routine. Without self-pity and with refreshing clarity, he gives former slackers the tools they need to understand clinical depression in themselves and in loved ones, to take steps to prevent it, and to cope with it if it happens, as it does to 40 million Americans.

Ned brings more than a personal perspective. He also brings fascinating new research. Among other things, he helps his audience understand how scientists now say that a near-constant state of stress literally atrophies our brains and makes us depressed. (No kidding!)

Ned uses bare honesty and hilarious stories to show how he made the decision to live despite life's stressors and avoided suicide, the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24- year olds in this country.

Peppered with insights and coping strategies, Ned's presentation will not just be the least depressing talk you ever hear on depression. It will also be the most interesting, the most honest, and the one that stays with your audiences when they leave.