Amy Alkon

Amy Alkon, also known as the Advice Goddess, writes a weekly advice column, "Ask the Advice Goddess," which is published in over 100 newspapers within North America. While Alkon addresses a number of topics, she primarily focuses on issues in intimate relationships, often citing experts in the field of psychology to support her opinions.

Biography

Alkon grew up in Farmingham Hills, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Although currently a strong atheist, Alkon was born to a Jewish family. Alkon recalls being shunned due to prevailing anti-Semitic attitudes, even physically attacked in seventh grade by her classmates. Alkon credits her isolation as the catalyst that cultivated her early fondness for reading. [http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/08/whats-your-story-amy-alkon]

At some point, Alkon moved to New York City, where she dispensed advice on a street corner SoHo as one of three women who called themselves "The Advice Ladies." This was not an occupation, merely a hobby, and their setup was minimal, using only folding chairs and a handmade sign advertising "Free Advice from a Panel of Experts" [http://www.advicegoddess.com/allabout.html] , [http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/08/whats-your-story-amy-alkon] . She co-authored a book, "Free Advice - The Advice Ladies on Love, Dating, Sex, and Relationships" with her fellow "Advice Ladies," Caroline Johnson and Marlowe Minnick. Her next book, a solo project entitled "Revengerella: One Woman’s Battle to Beat Some Manners Into Impolite Society", is due for release in September of 2009, to be published by McGraw Hill. [http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/08/whats-your-story-amy-alkon]

Before billing herself as the "advice goddess," Alkon wrote "Ask Amy Alkon", an advice column published solely in the "New York Daily News".

In 2004, the Biography Channel featured Alkon in a series of one-minute shorts called "The Advice Minute With Amy Alkon." There were 11 in total and during these segments, which ran between the Biography Channel's regular programs, Alkon dispensed advice on the streets of New York, just as she had done with her cohorts years earlier. [http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2004/02/09/the_advice_godd.html]

While not having any formal training in psychology, Alkon has gained recognition by professionals in the field. The late psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis, for instance, described her as "saner than most of the therapists I know." Paleopsychologist Howard Bloom called her "intellectually promiscuous." [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/advice/view/AdviceGoddess]

Campaigns

In her daily life, and in her blog [http://www.advicegoddess.com] , Alkon campaigns against a number of things. In her article, "Hello, Psycho" (entitled after the opening salutation of one of her respondents), she describes her anti-SUV campaign, which consists of placing small cards on the windshields of SUVs. The cards (which are her own composition) refer to the driver as a "Road-Hogging, Gas-Guzzling, Air-Fouling Vulgarian" and pointedly suggest that the driver is compensating for "an extremely small penis" by driving "such a monstrosity." [http://www.advicegoddess.com/suv.html]

Other issues she actively campaigns against are unruly children, which she attributes to bad parenting, inconsiderate cellphone users, and copyright violators.

External links

* [http://www.advicegoddess.com Amy Alkon's Website]
*cite news |url=http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12324 |title=The Goddess speaks! - It had to happen: Here's Amy on Amy | date=December 15 1999 |work=Detroit Metro Times |author=Amy Probst |accessdate=
*cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/DM/lib00375,0F682D2F3791C928.html |title=Goddess shares her divine talent for giving advice | date=October 5 2002 |work=Dallas Morning News |author=Steve Steinberg |accessdate=
*cite news |url=http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/08/whats-your-story-amy-alkon |title=What's Your Story?: Amy Alkon | date=August 26 2008 |work=DOUBLETHINK |author=Cheryl Miller |accessdate=