About Dr. Duggan and The Psychology Reader

I actually go by Mary Anne, or Mary if you are family, or Grandma to my sweet Hudson. Some of my students refer to me simply as “Miss.” When I taught kindergarten many years ago, I was Mrs. Duggan. My husband jokingly calls me “Murray.”

And that’s okay. I’m used to multiple identities, and as George R.R. Martin once said, “A reader lives 1000 lives . . .”

In my actual life, I am a psychology professor at Glendale Community College in Arizona where I teach courses in positive, health, and educational psychology along with introduction to statistics. And I am a reader.

I read everything. Right now, in fact, I am looking out from a cafe reading the side of a truck parked on New York City’s Upper West Side. But besides reading random box trucks, I bite equally into fiction and non-fiction books.This Substack explores psychology-related books in the Bookyloo series. Similar to a looky-loo, you can window shop my book recommendations and perhaps decide to pick up one for yourself.

Opening the door to the start of my sabbatical year in Peru’s Sacred Valley

But there’s more to the story . . .

I have been granted a sabbatical for the 2025-26 school year. What that means is I will literally be getting paid to read, y’all! My sabbatical project involves studying how research in positive and health psychology can be used to improve well-being for teachers. And I will conduct much of my research as I travel the world.

I will write about some of my scholarly discoveries in what I’m calling the Body of Resilience collection. In addition, I will also include more personal essays on what it is like to have a full year away from the normal rhythm of work in The Sabbatical Diaries. So, come for the reading recommendations; stay for conversations on living a well and full life!

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Come for the psychology book recommendations; Stay for a celebration of life well lived!

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Psychology professor and passionate reader. Teaches Positive, Health, and Educational Psychology, as well as Introduction to Statistics. Loves books almost as much as people.