I'm Dr. Jerry L. Woodbridge, an educator of more than forty years, a grandmother, and an author who writes about grief and the hope that outlasts it.

Writing has been part of me since childhood, when I made my very first book about a dolphin named Jamie who befriended a little girl. I wrote poetry as a teenager, edited my high school newspaper, and journaled through every season of my life since: carrying my first child, a closed adoption and the letters I saved for my son, and the dissertation that earned my PhD in Education from Walden University in 2003.

Then came the season that changed my writing forever. I lost babies. I lost family members. And in 2004, I lost my beloved husband, Dave, quickly, to colon cancer. Three years into widowhood, I could no longer ignore my grief, so I did what I had always done: I picked up my journal. Those scribbled pages became my first book, Trading My Sorrows for the Joy of the Lord, a devotional for widows, published in 2010.

Years later, I set out to give a TEDx talk about how ballroom dancing helped me move through grief. Instead, that group challenged me to write a children's book about it. As a teacher, I had stood on the front lines with grieving children more times than I can count, and I believe children need books written from their own perspective, especially about the hard things. That challenge became Joy Overcame Sorrow, the story of a ten-year-old girl coping with the loss of her dad, along with its companion, Joy's Journal.
My newest novel, The Intersection, continues that calling.

Every page I have written has drawn me closer to God, and my prayer is that my books help others, children and adults alike, find hope in the midst of sorrow. I would love to hear from you. Whether you are a reader, a teacher, or someone walking through loss, let's take this journey together.