Gregory J. Leeson
After graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in economics, Gregory J. Leeson embarked on an eclectic four-decade career spanning investment banking, bond trading at the Chicago Board of Trade, co-founding and leading Chinova Software, and, after selling his interest in the company, a leadership role at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. He retired in 2021.
In 2022 and 2023, Leeson spent 13 months traveling more than 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) across North America, visiting 39 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces to research and write his first life-transforming book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: A Path to Reconciliation in Our Divided Times. It was released on September 30, 2024, by Story Merchant Books of Los Angeles.
Leeson has given 27 speeches in 19 cities, appeared on the front page of Virginia’s most important newspaper, The Richmond-Times Dispatch on February 17, 2023, and was featured in Authority Magazine for a series about authors making a social impact. In addition, he has appeared on several high-profile radio shows and podcasts. You can watch, listen, or read these interviews below.
Gregory J. Leeson
After graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in economics, Gregory J. Leeson embarked on an eclectic four-decade career spanning investment banking, bond trading at the Chicago Board of Trade, co-founding and leading Chinova Software, and, after selling his interest in the company, a leadership role at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. He retired in 2021.
In 2022 and 2023, Leeson spent 13 months traveling more than 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) across North America, visiting 39 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces to research and write his first life-transforming book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: A Path to Reconciliation in Our Divided Times. It was released on September 30, 2024, by Story Merchant Books of Los Angeles.
Leeson has given 27 speeches in 19 cities, appeared on the front page of Virginia’s most important newspaper, The Richmond-Times Dispatch on February 17, 2023, and was featured in Authority Magazine for a series about authors making a social impact. In addition, he has appeared on several high-profile radio shows and podcasts. You can watch, listen, or read these interviews below.
| “ORDINARY PEOPLE” BOOK ENGAGEMENTS | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Richmond Times-Dispatch Newspaper Front Page▶ | NEWSPAPER INTERVIEW |
| The Chris Voss Show [@1:35]▶ | PODCAST INTERVIEW |
| Interviewed by Authority Magazine for the series, “Social Impact Authors”▶ | MAGAZINE INTERVIEW |
| iHeart Radio with John Clark [@ 0:15]▶ | RADIO INTERVIEW |
| Your Partner In Success Radio Show with Denise Griffitts [@ 1:10]▶ | PODCAST INTERVIEW |
| The Douglas Coleman Show [@ 0:20]▶ | PODCAST INTERVIEW |
| The Kim Pagano Show [@ 2:05]▶ | RADIO INTERVIEW |
| The Born to Talk Show with Marsha Wietecha [@ 0:29]▶ | PODCAST INTERVIEW |
| The Frankie Boyer Show [@ 0:07]▶ | RADIO INTERVIEW |
- Richmond Times-Dispatch Front Page Article ▶
(Newspaper Interview) - The Chris Voss Show [@ 1:35] ▶
(Podcast Interview) - Interviewed by Authority Magazine for the series, “Social Impact Authors” ▶
(Magazine Interview) - iHeart Radio with John Clark [@ 0:15] ▶
(Radio Interview) - Your Partner In Success Radio Show with Denise Griffitts [@1:10] ▶
(Podcast Interview) - The Douglas Coleman Show [@ 0:20] ▶
(Podcast Interview) - The Kim Pagano Show [@ 2:05] ▶
(Radio Interview) - The Born to Talk Show with Marsha Wietecha [@0:29] ▶
(Podcast Interview) - The Frankie Boyer Show [@ 0:07] ▶
(Radio Interview)
A dual Canadian-U.S. citizen, Leeson then turned his attention to a dream he had contemplated for years: building a new life in Europe. After extensive research and firsthand experience navigating the relocation process, he moved to Portugal, where he now enjoys the sunshine and an occasional glass of port.
On August 31, 2026, his second book, Your New Life in Europe: The Essential Guide for North Americans Planning to Retire, Work, or Live Abroad, was released by Leeson Books of Lisbon, Portugal. Drawing on his own relocation experience, the book provides detailed guidance on immigration pathways to 21 European countries.
What readers are saying about Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives:
A Monumental Work of Empathy and Insight…
A Message of Hope During Divided Times…
A Powerful Collection of Resilience and Hope
Book for our Times that Promotes Societal Communication, Empathy, and Understanding, not Division…
What two Harvard-educated experts in narrative psychology think:
Gregory Leeson has done something many of us only dream about doing in our later years. Setting out on the quintessential road trip, he has crisscrossed the continent, listened in-depth to people from all walks of life, and woven their stories into this accessible, edifying volume, one worth taking the time to read.
William L. Randall, Ed.D.
2024 Visiting Fellow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge University
Professor Emeritus of Gerontology, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick
At a time when Americans feel more divided from each other than ever, Gregory Leeson offers a message and a methodology of hope. People find common ground through storytelling, Leeson shows us, for it is nearly impossible to dismiss, let alone hate, another person once you have come to know their story. Leeson clocked over 26,000 miles on his intrepid travels across the United States (and Canada), conducting extensive life-story interviews with people he met along the way. In this remarkable volume, he translates those unwieldy narratives into concise and riveting accounts that depict the many-splendored variation of contemporary American lives, as well as shared understandings and common ground. More than anything else, Leeson knows how to listen to people with humility and grace. We all need to learn how to do the same.
Dan P. McAdams, Ph.D.
The Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Partial testimony from one interviewee:
But I was speechless when Greg emailed me my short story after turning my five-hour interview into 500+ words. He understood! He GOT MY STORY! Someone finally heard me, understood my journey, and could tell it in a way that allowed me to release so much of the pain I had been carrying for years. For that, I am forever grateful to Greg.
Amy
TWO BOOKS. ONE MISSION: EMPOWER LIVES & EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES.