Grief & Happiness · Emily Thiroux Threatt

Helping Children Heal Through Storytelling – Jerry Woodbridge on Joy Overcame Sorry and Journaling for Kids

·29 min·2 clips

Geri Woodbridge shares how her husband died suddenly from colon cancer, leaving her a widow and single mom at 42.

This episode of the Grief and Happiness podcast features host Emily and guest Geri Woodbridge, a teacher, writer, and widow who authored a children's book about loss. Woodbridge discusses her personal journey through grief after losing her husband suddenly to colon cancer in 2014, which left her a widow and single mother at age 42. She explains how journaling helped her process overwhelming emotions, which she describes as feeling like having a thousand hornets around her head. Her initial book, "Trading My Sorrows for the Joy of the Lord," compiled stories from her own experience and other widows she met through a support group and ballroom dancing. The conversation centers on Woodbridge's subsequent project, a middle-grade novel titled "Joy Overcame Sorry," written from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl named Joy who loses her father in a car accident. A companion journal, "Joy's Journal," provides prompts to help young readers process their own feelings about loss. Woodbridge shares that the idea for the children's book emerged after a rejected TEDx talk proposal, where advisors suggested she write for kids instead. She researched the market and found a lack of narrative-driven books about grief for middle-grade readers, unlike picture books for younger children or books where loss is a minor plot point. In her book, Joy receives a journal from her cousin to record memories of her father, which becomes a tool for her emotional processing. Woodbridge emphasizes the universal need for "grief literacy," suggesting resources be available before a loss occurs. She distinguishes between sympathy, which she compares to a quick "drive-through" gesture, and empathy, which involves sustained presence and understanding. The episode also touches on "anticipated grief" during long-term illness versus the shock of sudden loss, and how family members, like Woodbridge's then 12-year-old son, can experience grief differently, such as through panic attacks. A memorable moment is Woodbridge's description of a grief camp for children on Maui, where kids participated in a closing ceremony involving a helicopter dropping flowers into the ocean. She recounts a mother's initial worry that the camp would make her daughter sadder, only to see the child smiling and connected with peers. Woodbridge argues that healing involves turning personal pain into purpose by helping others, which prevents bitterness. She and Emily agree that people often avoid those who are grieving for fear of saying the wrong thing, but simple acts like sharing a fond memory of the deceased are more valuable than a standard condolence. The tone is conversational, supportive, and educational, blending personal testimony with practical advice. This episode would deeply resonate with grieving parents, educators, counselors, or anyone supporting a child through loss. Listeners seeking purely clinical or secular perspectives on grief might find the frequent references to faith and prayer less aligned with their preferences.

As heard by us

A warm, faith-rooted conversation about grief, journaling, and holding sorrow beside joy.

A teacher and writer sits down with Grief & Happiness to talk about grief, journaling, and how a child sees loss. The episode lands on a plain truth: sorrow and joy can live together, and love is what connects them.

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Need a gentler way to help a child move through grief without forcing a big talk?

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