When:
Thursday, January 29, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT
Where:
Online
Webcast Link
Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students
Cost: Free
Contact:
Julie Deardorff
(847) 467-3147
Julie.deardorff@northwestern.edu
Group: School of Education and Social Policy
Category: Lectures & Meetings
In her groundbreaking new book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace (FAN ’23) argues that mattering—the feeling that we are valued and have the chance to add value—is a core human need, as essential to our well-being as food and water. Yet in today’s world, that need is increasingly unmet, with serious consequences. As mental and social health crises surge, we often point to social media, the pace of modern life, or polarizing politics. Wallace reveals a deeper, more fundamental problem: what she calls “an erosion of mattering.”