Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-185).

PSYCH LaRoche is Erma Bombeck with a wellness agenda. A motivational speaker with her own company, The Humor Potential, LaRoche has been featured on PBS and serves on the faculty of Boston's Mind-Body Institute. Her theme: laughter is important for reducing stress and maintaining a healthy life. In chapters with headings such as 'If you don't have to suffer, don't practice' and 'How to prevent hardening of the attitudes,' LaRoche dispenses practical wisdom laced with laughter and lampoons the human potential movement while subtly delivering its most important messages. Using illustrations from 'the committee,' her Italian American extended family, she encourages women to look for the humor in every situation ('look at parts of your life as a sitcom, with you as the star') and use it to defuse stress. Included are addresses of organizations and a list of resources for 'health, healing and humor.' Recommended for popular psychology collections. Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA-

BSLW RECAT 2023