Dr. Dan Gottlieb to premiere new PBS TV show

Dr. Dan Gottlieb, longtime host of Philadelphia's WHYY-FM's "Voices in the Family" radio show, has developed a PBS TV show, “Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening.” The show is scheduled to premiere nationally in June, according to New Mobility magazine.

Gottlieb, a family therapist who is a quadriplegic, is the author of the bestselling book Letters for Sam: A Grandfather's Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life, in which he wrote letters for his grandson, who has a form of autism. (Both are pictured above.)

According to The Times-Tribune in Scranton, Penn., the new TV show focuses on "modern dilemmas plaguing adults and children in a society obsessed with achievement at the expense of happiness. Pretaped segments feature guests including author, historian and speaker Gerda Weissman Klein, who is a Holocaust survivor; Andrea Collins Smith, who leads a full life while living with stage four breast cancer; and a group of teenagers who share the stresses and pressures they feel in their lives."

Gottlieb's companion book from the PBS show was released March 1 by Sterling Publishers. Publishers Weekly gave the book, which has the same name as the show, a starred review, saying: "You have to love a self-help book that extols doing nothing: The truth is, says Gottlieb, if we become comfortable with who we are rather than who we think we should be, then we will be less insecure."

Thanks to New Mobility for tipping me to the new show. The magazine profiled Gottlieb in 2003.