About the Author
Marietta McCarty is the author of national bestseller Little Big Minds, a guide for adults to share philosophy with children. With the publication of How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas That Matter Most, she brings philosophy alive for everyone interested in the world of ideas. Having been Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia since 1988, her teaching now revolves around her two books. Her philosophy circles ring with voices engaged in hearty conversation, the dialogue laced with laughter in a comfortable setting. Her belief in the benefits of clear thinking, rich conversation, and quiet reflection is confirmed by her readers, in testimony from her child philosophers and her college students, while hosting groups of all kinds in Charlottesville, and wherever she travels with her philosophical tool kit. Marietta’s conviction that a fulfilling, contented life stems from vigor and clarity of mind drew her to her vocation in philosophy. That an open, inquisitive mind enlarges the capacity of the heart and breeds peace ensures that she will keep her shingle out.
In her chapter titled "Love Yourself Enough," included in the Jossey-Bass book Promoting Community Renewal Through Civic Literacy and Service Learning, the author reflects upon her role as Coordinator of Service Learning for the PVCC campus and its entire service region. For over twenty years she has served on occasion as an adjunct professor for Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, teaching group tutorials.
Marietta enjoyed her tennis-playing, ball-throwing, book-reading, ocean-loving childhood in Richmond, Virginia. For fourteen summers, she was the director of the Blue Ridge Tennis Camp outside Charlottesville for children and adults, welcoming campers from many countries and throughout the US. A Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude graduate in philosophy from Hollins College, she was inducted into the Hollins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. She received her Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia.
Marietta chats with Cliff Haury, Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, while sitting in her very own "Chair of Philosophy" awarded at Piedmont Virginia Community College on August 16, 2011.
