The Hero Interviews – Gretchen Rubin
Posted by Matt Langdon on January 14, 2008
Gretchen Rubin is the creator of the Happiness Project blog that documented her year long investigation into happiness. The year is over, but the blog continues unabated. She offers tips, insights, stories, quotes, and more to help the reader find that elusive state of being – happiness. She has also written some books, not least of which is “Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill”. She is the latest to add her voice to the Interview Series.
Who was your hero as a child and why?
Hmmm…I would have to say that my hero was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read all the “Little House” books over and over, and I was fascinated by the bravery, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness of Laura and her entire family. I bought a prairie dress, had a rag doll, and loved anything related to covered wagons, log cabins, or the prairie. I recently re-read the entire series, and I was even more struck by how much courage and skill it must have taken to live as pioneers during that period. I was so interested in LIW that I read anything else I could get my hands on, by her and about her.
Who is your hero now and why?
That’s easy. Winston Churchill. Several years ago, I read one biography of Churchill, and I instantly became enthralled with him – so enthralled that I wrote my own biography of him, Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill. Churchill had his faults, but he was so unbelievably brave, insightful, daring, with a good sense of humor and a decent touch with a paint brush, and – the quality that made him my hero – a genius with language. Even now, after reading and writing for years about Churchill, I never tire of reading his unparalleled speeches and books.
Randy L. Otto said
To Ms Rubin -
I thoroughly enjoyed your splendid book “Forty Ways to Look At Winston Churchill.”
My personal fascination with the great man began with my College English History professor. His enthusiasm for all things Churchill matched the great man’s indefatigabile exuberance becoming kinetic. In a word: I was hooked.
Winston’s speeches during World War II as President John F. Kennedy put it: “…mobilized the English Language and sent it into battle.” He was a true hero.
Your book, Ms Rubin, provides many sides to this complex man, not just his oratory. Thank you for your contribution to Churchill’s memory. May he live in our hearts forever!
Randy L. Otto
Author and performer of the one man show: “Never Give In, Never, Never, Never: An Evening With Winston S. Churchill”