Professor Emerita

English

University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716

Biography

Joan DelFattore writes about the choice to live single, with emphasis on what’s involved in handling a serious illness while living alone. Her guest blog posts have appeared at the Washington Post, the Herald TribuneKevinMDPsychology TodayPsych Central, and more.

Her earlier publications include three books with Yale University Press and dozens of articles, mostly about freedom of speech. Her work has won awards from the American Library Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the Spencer Foundation, among others. In addition to speaking at conferences and events throughout the country, she’s appeared on dozens of talk shows, notably 20/20Radio TimesFresh AirTalk of the Nation, and the Diane Rehm Show.

She holds a Ph.D. in English and an M.S. in clinical psychology from Penn State University, and was a professor at the University of Delaware for more than thirty years.

After retiring in 2014, she established a Writing as Healing program at the Christiana Care Health System in Delaware, teaching research-based techniques for using writing to reduce stress. The program has served more than 600 patients, caregivers, and staff, and sessions for physicians will begin in 2017.

DelFattore currently holds an appointment as a scholar in residence at the New York Public Library. She’s also an active member of the Cosmos Club, the Wilmington (Delaware) Rotary Club, the International Women’s Forum, Mystery Writers of America (New York chapter), Visible Ink, and the Authors Guild. She divides her time between her home in Newark, Delaware, and New York City.