Rest in Peace, Dr. Joyce Brothers

“Accept that all of us can be hurt, that all of us can and surely will at times fail. Other vulnerabilities, like being embarrassed or risking love, can be terrifying too. I think we should follow a simple rule: if we can take the worst, take the risk.” 

In case you have not heard by now, Dr. Joyce Brothers, one of the best television personalities of our time, passed away at 85 years old.

Usually referred to as a “pop psychologist” because of her advice show on television throughout the 1950s, Brothers’ resume also boasts her talents as a columnist, an author, and a film personality.

The world first noticed Brothers when she won the game show The $64,000 Question (a question I personally got wrong in trivia last night!) She won the game show based on a question about boxing, a subject that was supposedly suggested to her so she quickly became an expert. After winning the show, NBC asked Brothers to be a commentator on a high profile boxing match, making her the first female boxing commentator ever. As the nation continued to fall more in love with her, Brothers was finally offered her own television show in which she answered questions about relationships. The viewers loved it, and because of their ease in relating to her, Brothers’ various shows were all insanely successful. She truly pioneered the genre of television psychologist.

She began to write for Good Housekeeping, and remained a columnist for the magazine for nearly 40 years. Between everything else on her plate, Brothers wrote numerous books, arguably the most famous ones being Widowed, about the death of her husband and how to cope with the loss of a spouse; and What Every Woman Should Know About Men, which is a book I clearly should read.

Brothers earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia and her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell. Not only was she witty, but she was incredibly bright. Brothers had one daughter Lisa, and four grandchildren. She truly was the every-woman: juggling work that didn’t seem like work, family that she adored, and supporting humanity one piece of advice at a time. Doctor, we thank you, and hope you are reunited in a blissful place with your late husband.

Thank you for the words. We’ll never forget them.

Featured image via cnn, boxing image via washingtonpost, other image via msn.