radiance in the morning
an interview of elizabeth garzarelli
by lisa horak

Elizabeth Garzarelli’s license plate reads “MNGFLWRK.” To those who know her it makes perfect sense: ‘Meaningful work’ is the focus of “Radiance,” Elizabeth’s new local radio talk show.

Although the show has only been on the air since August, the idea had been brewing since last October when Elizabeth had an epiphany. She was meditating when suddenly a light bulb went off and she realized she was supposed to do a radio interview show about how people find joy, passion, and purpose in their work.

For half an hour each week Elizabeth interviews guests about what excites them most about their work. Her guest list is an eclectic roster of people who have found their true callings, including a documentary filmmaker, an ice sculptor, a belly dancer, a massage therapist, and a developmental specialist who works in neonatal intensive care. In early November she will interview mind-body expert Deepak Chopra.

Elizabeth is intimately acquainted with the quest for meaningful work. She is currently a licensed professional counselor in private practice at Insight Counseling, a job that is both challenging and rewarding. Before that, however, she worked at countless jobs, none of which were fulfilling to her.

“I had a glitzy, glamorous job in public relations and marketing. I worked as a lobbyist in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill. I was an executive recruiter in San Francisco with a company car and an office with a view of San Francisco Bay,” she says. “But I was miserable. I didn’t feel like I was helping anyone. So I quit. I became very poor. And I did what I had always secretly wanted to do but feared I wasn’t good enough. I went to graduate school and became a therapist.”

“It’s important to differentiate between a job and one’s work,” she cautions. “The state of the economy can make it hard for them to be one and the same. Often a job simply makes it possible to pursue one’s true work. The guests on my show really model how it is possible to follow a dream,” says Elizabeth, who feels energized and inspired after her interviews. “They’re giving advice to me and to anyone listening.”

Producing and hosting “Radiance” is a leap into the unknown for Elizabeth, whose only previous radio experience was hosting a New Age music show in Wilmington, NC. While she has had to learn the technical aspects of creating a show, other parts have come quite easily.

“Working as a psychotherapist for the last 11 years serves me well on the radio,” she says. “It helps me to be authentic, establish immediate rapport with my guests, to listen deeply, and to ask questions that might not normally be asked. I’ve also been told I have a great radio voice. I really think my passion and commitment to this new venture is going to make this show a great success.”

Elizabeth lives in Fairview with her husband and two daughters, ages 5 and 8. She recalls the morning her show was to debut. “I got the kids up and we drove into Asheville, since we can’t get good reception at our house. I’d told all my friends and family to listen and then…it wasn’t on! The station had changed the time of the show without telling me.”

Snafus aside, the show is doing well. After all, what could be more uplifting on a Saturday morning than to hear firsthand about people living their dreams? “ I want to give people inspiration, hope, and a vision of what their lives can be like if they listen closely to their inner voice,” says Elizabeth.

“Radiance” airs at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings on WISE 1310 AM.

Lisa Horak is a stay-at-home mom raising two young daughters, Molly and Isabel. She has written for non-profit organizations and is the co-editor of Heart of the Land and Off the Beaten Path, a fiction and non-fiction anthology of nature writing for The Nature Conservancy. [ horak@charter.net ]