Richmond IONS Meeting, September 20, 2014

Featuring a Talk by Jill Baughan

“Born to be Wild: Rediscover the Freedom of Fun”

Jill Baughan’s latest book, Born To Be Wild: Rediscover the Freedom of Fun, helps men and women unleash that power of play in their own lives, insisting that she is not the only one with this “gift”.

Everyone is a fun person, she says–even if you’re feeling depressed or overwhelmed or angry–mainly because the God who made you is also the Creator of fun. Her message gives you a new ability to:

  • Fit more fun into your day.
  • Restore adventurous dreams you may have postponed.
  • Multiply joy by sharing your fun with others.
  • Use moments of fun to heal in times of grief and loss.
  • Renew your relationship with God by using fun as an act of worship.

About Our Presenter:

Jill Baughan, an author and speaker who helps people unleash the power of play in their lives, was born in Bluffton, Indiana, where she learned to laugh and throw up at the same time while riding the Tilt-A-Whirl at the annual Bluffton Street Fair.

Early on in life she was diagnosed with an acute form of adultaphobia (fear of entering the Land of Responsible Adulthood).  Alas, adulthood did catch up with Jill, and she is no stranger to painful experiences, such as the sudden death of her father when she was ten, and a long battle with infertility as an adult.

Her first book, A Hope Deferred: A Couple’s Guide to Coping with Infertility, chronicled her journey, and offered suggestions for couples traveling the same difficult road. Even though the challenges of life have changed her, however, her innate wildness remains unshaken.

“Though there are times when part of me mourns what’s lost, sighs at what’s here and trembles a bit at what’s to come,” she says, “I still want to hop onto a Harley, swing like Tarzan from a vine, and toilet paper somebody’s house.”

As a frequent speaker, Jill’s message has touched hundreds of people at retreats, civic organizations, church groups, women’s ministries and businesses. Leaders look to Jill as someone who can inspire their audiences with humor, depth and wisdom.

Jill spent a lot of years as an English instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University before she decided to take her craziness on the road. She and her husband, Ben, have an adult daughter, Jamie, and live just outside of Richmond, Virginia.