Lee Woodruff

Whether it’s a child in a car accident, a spouse’s request for a divorce, a patient’s stroke, a diagnosis of breast cancer, or a terrorist attack on a warm day in September -- life can change in an instant for us all.

As co-author of In An Instant, the #1 New York Times best seller, Lee Woodruff recounts her story of a marriage, a family, a crisis and a healing. When her husband, ABC’s newly appointed co-anchor Bob Woodruff, was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq, Woodruff’s life changed in an instant. She had to learn to put her own grief aside to care for her children, as well as her husband, who was gravely injured and close to death. In the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu—"Suffering is not optional. It seems to be part and parcel of the human condition, but suffering can embitter or ennoble."

Woodruff speaks with grace and humor about her own family’s experience and how they chose to attack the crisis that befell them, resulting in a life-changing journey of love, healing and miracles for her whole family.

Anyone who has met a health care crisis head-on or with a loved one knows precisely what the term “caregiver” means. And in every case, it is completely inadequate to describe what millions of men and women are doing around the country every day as they minister to the needs of children, spouses, loved ones, parents and partners. Woodruff provides her 10 tips for caregivers while sharing her own story about nursing her husband though a miraculous recovery after he suffered a traumatic brain injury when hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Woodruff’s compassion and strength, told with honesty and empathy, will leave audiences inspired and renewed.

Life, marriage, family, work…and balance? Impossible. As a woman in today’s world, chances are you have become a multi-tasking maniac. And there is so much pressure on us all to do everything well. One small misstep, one crisis, one unexpected event and the whole apparatus can feel as if it’s spiraling downward. Lee Woodruff went through what she describes as a “year of hell” when her husband, ABC’s newly appointed co-anchor Bob Woodruff, was hit by a bomb while covering the war in Iraq. As the co-author of the New York Times best-selling book In an Instant, Woodruff has much to tell when it comes to speaking about parenting through a crisis, how to forgive ourselves for not being perfect, and how to put family and self above all else while keeping the important balls in the air. Speaking with anecdotes, humor and warmth, Woodruff delivers an interesting take on how we can all learn to check the “cape” at the door and still tap into our own superpowers.

Part of the journey of life is that there will be times when we hit what Lee Woodruff calls “the grittier pavement of life,” as she writes in her best-selling book In an Instant. How we rise to meet those challenges sets the tone for many things—but nothing can be more stressful or provide more opportunity for life’s lessons than figuring out how to parent through a crisis. With her signature brand of humor, honesty and courage, Woodruff speaks about her own family’s journey after her husband, Bob Woodruff, was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, suffering traumatic brain injury. What she has to say about staying strong for her children while always pledging to be honest is a subject we can all choose to learn from.

In this presentation mirroring her book Perfectly Imperfect, Lee Woodruff shares with audiences her often funny, sometimes poignant and always resilient take on life. In a Nora Ephron meets Erma Bombeck delivery, Woodruff connects audiences with the many commonalities and anecdotes of being a daughter, mother, friend, working woman and caregiver. She also draws on some of the life lessons and experiences she chronicled in her number one best seller "In an Instant," which details her family's journey of recovery after her husband Bob was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
With the same witty sense of humor she brings to her reporting on Good Morning America and her down to earth delivery, Woodruff takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of self-deprecating humor and shares some of her wisdom from having traveled on the "grittier pavement in life." One of the most popular aspects of her presentation are the insightful and often surprising tips Woodruff has to offer anyone going through a difficult time or the people surrounding them, from what to say and what not to say to what to do, Woodruff lays it out for the audience in an engaging fashion.