Oberlin, Loriann Hoff 1961–

PERSONAL: Born June 2, 1961, in Pittsburgh, PA; married; children: two sons. Education: Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, B.A., 1983; Johns Hopkins University, M.S., 2006. Religion: Presbyterian. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, reading.

ADDRESSES: Home—Montgomery County, MD. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Marlowe & Co., 245 W. 17th St., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10011-5300. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer, educator, public relations consultant, and public speaker. Graduate counselor working toward licensure; teaches classes and workshops on writing and how to balance work and family; frequent guest on television programs, television news shows, and talk-radio programs.

MEMBER: National Council on Family Relations, American Counseling Association, Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society.

WRITINGS:

Writing for Money, Writer's Digest Books (Cincinnati, OH), 1994.

Working at Home while the Kids Are There, Too, Career Press (Franklin Lakes, NJ), 1997.

Surviving Separation and Divorce: A Woman's Guide to Making It through the First Years, Adams Media (Holbrook, MA), 2000, updated 2nd edition published as Surviving Separation and Divorce: A Woman's Guide to Regaining Control, Building Strength and Confidence, Securing a Financial Future, Adams Media (Avon, MA), 2005.

The Everything American History Book: People, Places, and Events That Shaped Our Nation, Adams Media (Avon, MA), 2001.

(With Timothy F. Murphy) The Angry Child: Regaining Control when Your Child Is Out of Control, Clarkson Potter (New York, NY), 2001.

Writing for Quick Cash: Turn Your Way with Words into Real Money, American Management Association (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Tim Murphy) Overcoming Passive-Aggression: How to Stop Hidden Anger from Spoiling Your Relationships, Career, and Happiness, Marlowe (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals and magazines, including Saturday Evening Post, Parenting, Woman's Day, Washington Families, Elegant Bride, Bridal Guide, Woman's World, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Good Times, Attache, Writer's Digest, and Family Circle.

Author of monthly column, "Family Answers," and former author of a work/life column for the Pittsburgh Business Times.

SIDELIGHTS: Author Loriann Hoff Oberlin is working toward licensure as a clinical counselor with special interest in group and individual work, divorce recovery, life balance, and family therapy. She is a relationship advisor and an expert in facing and overcoming difficult emotional issues in oneself and others. She has been a frequent guest on television news programs and radio shows, as well as daytime TV talk shows, where she has discussed topics such as divorce, parenting, family issues, and physical and mental health matters. She is a family life columnist and was previously author of a work/life column for the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Oberlin is also an advocate for writers, and she devotes time to speaking at writers' conferences and helping aspiring authors achieve their goals of publication. She is the author of Writing for Money and Writing for Quick Cash: Turn Your Way with Words into Real Money, books designed to help writers publish their work and earn a reasonable financial return by doing so. Oberlin also teaches writing through her own Writing for Quick Cash Online Seminar and through the Writer's Online Workshops offered by Writer's Digest.

In Overcoming Passive-Aggression: How to Stop Hidden Anger from Spoiling Your Relationships, Career, and Happiness, Oberlin and coauthor Timothy F. Murphy (a psychologist and member of Congress) explore in depth passive-aggression, the type of anger that is usually well concealed but which is expressed indirectly through inappropriate actions or, sometimes, through calculated inaction. At its best, passive-aggressive behavior can be self-defeating, and at its worst, self-destructive. Oberlin and Murphy explore how passive-aggression can affect sufferers as well as those who are the recipients of their misplaced anger. Victims, the authors explain, often do not understand why passive-aggressors act the way they do. Worse, they also frequently do not realize that they are the objects of the sufferer's anger, and they do not know what has caused such anger to form. Oberlin and Murphy offer some explanations of how this pattern of behavior can develop from childhood anger that is not properly controlled and channeled. They discuss how to handle passive-aggression in workplace settings, at school, and within the boundaries of a variety of interpersonal relationships. They also provide helpful exercises designed to assist in identifying and overcoming passive-aggressive behavior. The book "proffers a lot of good advice" for those who encounter passive-aggression, commented Library Journal reviewer Deborah Bigelow. Oberlin's work provides "ample opportunity (and exercises) for personal growth" for both givers and receivers of passive-aggressive behavior, noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. "We all get angry," observed reviewer William Hageman in the Chicago Tribune, "this book makes it clearer why, and what we can do about it."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, January 9, 2006, William Hageman, "Help Yourself: Dealing with Hidden Anger," review of Overcoming Passive-Aggression: How to Stop Hidden Anger from Spoiling Your Relationships, Career, and Happiness.

Library Journal, November 15, 2005, Deborah Big-elow, review of Overcoming Passive-Aggression, p. 85.

Publishers Weekly, October 31, 2005, review of Overcoming Passive-Aggression, p. 47.

ONLINE

Loriann Hoff Oberlin Home Page, http://www.loriannoberlin.com (April 14, 2006).

Rose and Thornzine.com, http://www.theroseandthornzine.com/ (March 10, 2006), Sherry Elaine Eubank, "Jennifer O'Connell," interview with the author.