Ruth Whippman

Author | Journalist | Filmmaker

"A whip-sharp British Bill Bryson"

"Ruth Whippman is my new favorite cultural critic -her book was such a joy to read"

Adam Grant, #1 NYT bestselling author of Originals and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

"I LOVED this book..... I've been quite evangelical about it"

Marian Keyes, NYT bestselling author of Sushi for Beginners

"A beautifully written, important book. I can't recommend it too highly."

Benjamin Radcliff, Psychology Today

"A hilarious narrative... delightfully witty"

Kirkus starred review

"Ruth Whippman has a wicked sense of humor that makes every single page a pure joy to read"

Heather Havrilesky, New York Magazine columnist and author of How to be a Person in the World
Books

America the Anxious (US edition) /The Pursuit of Happiness (UK edition)

When British journalist Ruth Whippman moves to California, it seems to her that the American obsession with finding happiness is driving people crazy.

America the Anxious

In America the Anxious, Ruth Whippman embarks on an uproarious pilgrimage to explore the American happiness machine, tackling both the ridiculous and the sublime.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

Fantastically fresh, funny and honest, this is an eye-opening look at what happiness really means.

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About

Ruth Whippman is an author and journalist from London, living in the USA

Ruth’s essays and cultural criticism appear in The New York Times, Time magazine and The Guardian, amongst other places.

She is the author of America the Anxious, How Our Pursuit of Happiness is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks (St Martin’s/ Macmillan, 2016) UK title: The Pursuit of Happiness, Why Are We Driving Ourselves Crazy and How Can We Stop (Hutchinson, Penguin.)  The book was a New York Post Best Book of 2016, A New York Times Editors’ Choice and Paperback Row pick, one of Newsweek’s Nine Books to Change the Way You Think in 2016, a Sunday Times top summer read and a Daily Mail Must Read.  The Sunday Times described Ruth as a “whip-sharp British Bill Bryson.”  Ruth’s work was selected by Fortune Magazine in their January 2020 edition as one of “25 ideas to shape the next decade.”

Ruth, who is the mother of three young sons, is currently working on a new book provisionally entitled, Raising The Patriarchy, a Feminist Mom Raising Boys in the Age of #Metoo, Misogyny and Mass Male Rage, to be published by Harmony, Penguin.

Ruth is a regular contributor to radio shows, television and podcasts, having made appearances on shows including NPR’s Brian Lehrer Show, To the Point, CBS news and Morning Edition amongst many others. She  is also a regular speaker (watch her TEDx talk here ) and has given talks at Google (part of the Authors at Google series) Somerset House in London and UC Berkeley as well as several other venues.

Before becoming a full time writer, Ruth was a producer and director at the BBC in London making documentaries and current affairs shows for BBC television.

She lives in California with her husband and three young sons.

Ruth regularly gives talks to a range of audiences including conferences, corporations, colleges, book groups and community groups. If you would like to request Ruth to speak at your event, to your book group or anywhere else, or for interview requests, please fill out the contact form on the website or contact Washington Speakers Bureau at  [email protected].



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