Life-altering events are something Lee Woodruff knows all too closely.

 

By Robin Jovanovich

 

Life-altering events are something Lee Woodruff knows all too closely. She and her husband Bob, a TV journalist, have shared their story about his recovery from brain trauma after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. They did more than pen a big bestseller, (“In an Instant”); they created a foundation to help wounded soldiers and their families. They continue to amaze their neighbors and the world with their commitment and care for others.

 

Meanwhile, in addition to raising four wonderful children, Lee found time to write a humorous account, “Perfectly Imperfect”, about returning to the rest of life.

 

Someone else’s life is the subject of her first novel, “Those We Love Most”, which hit bookstores late last month and The New York Times Best Seller list shortly after.

 

A gifted storyteller, she is not afraid of weighty issues, in this case a family’s grief over the death of a child. Throughout the novel, you can almost feel Woodruff sharing her remarkable strength with three generations, trying to pull them out of darkness and closer to one another.

 

“I’m an observer; I take a lot of notes,” she said. “I wanted to write about that middle place in life in which so many feel themselves struggling.”

 

“We’re in a ‘disposable’ place as a society right now. With so many of the veterans I meet, I see marriages that are on the precipice.”

 

A born optimist and the product of a “very solid middle class background,” Woodruff’s view is that with resilience and forgiveness almost any relationship can be restored and righted.

 

You’ll discover she’s right about most things.

 

Woodruff says she likes her life “full”. If she could, however, she would like to grab three hours a day to write. What she ends up doing is writing in hotel rooms and on airplanes.

 

“I am a good mom,” she said. “I made it back from a book tour trip to Back to School Night!”

 

Lee Woodruff will be at the Rye library to talk about her new novel and the rest of life October 15 at 7 p.m. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and go home happy.