The world has lost a brilliant laugher, an adventurer, artist, and remarkably empathetic human being.
Annette Goodheart earned an international reputation as a laughter therapist, lecturer, and author of the book Laughter Therapy: How to Laugh About Everything in Your Life That Isn’t Really Funny. She worked with people struggling with cancer, AIDS, MS, Parkinson’s, eating disorders, sexual and physical abuse, marriage crises, alcoholism, and drug addiction, as well as the day-to-day emotional challenges common to the human condition. Regardless of the cause of the distress, Annette found that laughter — a cathartic process that helps rebalance the chemistry of emotions — could be a keystone for healing.
She helped people understand the power of laughter that doesn’t ridicule, and created a framework that wove together physiology, psychology, and historical, literary, and cultural references. Annette taught laughter classes (beginning and advanced) for Adult Education at Santa Barbara City College for 10 years, and credits these students with helping her develop and refine her theories about why laughter helps us and how we can do more of it.