Genevieve Piturro of Irvington was pursuing her dream of living like Mary Tyler Moore. She was a single, successful girl from Yonkers living the fast life in New York City and climbing the corporate ladder as a marketing executive.
She had it all. A great apartment, an exciting career, friends and the city at her fingertips, when one day, a voice inside asked, “If this is the next 30 years of your life, is this enough?”
At the age of 38, she answered “no” and jumped off the corporate ladder to found a nonprofit, after a little girl in a group home, where Genevieve was volunteering as a story–time reader, asked her a profound question.
TRUE PURPOSE
“It was in that defining moment that I found my true purpose in life, a purpose that would propel me day and night. It was also right then when I realized there is enough in this world—more than enough, in fact—to fix situations like this.”
Piturro quit the security of her corporate job to found the national nonprofit Pajama Program, in pursuit of her true purpose: to bring pajamas and a loving good night routine to children who were missing out on such an important experience. Within six years, Genevieve was sitting on Oprah’s couch, sharing her mission and building her army of support.
Today, 20 years later, Pajama Program has distributed 7 million pairs of new pajamas and books to children through 60 chapters in the U.S.
CHANGING COURSE
In Piturro’s transformative memoir, Purpose, Passion & Pajamas: How to Transform Your Life, Embrace the Human Connection, and Lead with Meaning, she shares her journey of making the difficult choice to change the course of her life, and teaches others how they too can harness the power of the human connection, and find the courage and confidence needed to find their purpose during today’s unsettled climate.
Piturro’s raw honesty — admitting to unmindful direction, internal struggles and self-realizations — resonates with many who have to pivot business strategies, find new careers and battle internal struggles to find their purpose.
The book offers eye-opening lessons in leadership, and the tools and motivation to “find your pajamas.”
HEALTHIER HEARTS
“Human connection is the key to thriving both personally and professionally. When we take the time to connect— I’m talking about face-to-face with our family, our partners, our friends, and our colleagues—our hearts feel fuller and in fact become healthier.”
Each chapter offers a heart-of-the-matter takeaway, with advice and stories on how Genevieve’s interactions and connections with others allowed her to make her dream a reality. “Everyone says it’s the ‘power of one’ that changes things, but I know it isn’t. It’s the power of one another that moves mountains and moves people,” says Piturro.
Genevieve Piturro is a professional speaker, consultant and author who has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Hallmark’s Home & Family, among other media. Her mission is to inspire people to listen to their hearts.
