Nancy B. Kennedy

A Storied Career...
or at least a career of stories

It seems I've been writing stories all my life.

I've just finished working on a book of stories told by moms. It follows the first two books in my series Miracles and Moments of Grace. One book is a collection of 50 stories told by military chaplains and the other is a book of 50 stories told by doctors.

This series follows my first two books, both of which were children's story books. When I found that my son needed a little something extra to make stories of the Christian faith interesting for him — and it became clear that arks made of popsicle sticks and cotton balls were beyond my ability — I began writing children’s books that illustrate these stories with simple science activities.

Before books

Before I wrote my first book, I was already enjoying a career as a writer. After college, I launched into a satisfying stint in daily newspapers. Eventually, I landed at Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in spite of the fact that at the time I didn’t know a stock from a bond. There, I worked for the company's pioneering electronic news service.

It was at Dow Jones that I truly learned how to tell a story. How often do you get the privilege of reading a newspaper the caliber of the Journal cover to cover as part of your job! In doing so, I discovered the secret to telling a really good story. It's simple, really. Focus on the people! Even in the most obscure story on, say, convertible subordinated debentures, a Journal writer will focus on the personalities involved. That's how you make a link with your reader.

The freelance years

While talk of mortgages and retirement saving brings gaping yawns to most people, I thrived in financial journalism and later took my show home as a freelancer. I have hundreds of bylines to my credit, each as exciting to me as the first, including many in the New York Times and the online Wall Street Journal. (I've included links to a few of these articles on this page.) For ten years, I ghostwrote a syndicated personal-finance column for Merrill Lynch.

Writer, interrupted

Parenthood opened up new areas of interest — and concern! — so I began applying my financial know-how to magazines for parents. Eventually, as my son's personality emerged and we found a common interest in science, I began writing science activity books for children.

In the same way that I enjoyed distilling and simplifying finances for adults, I liked simplifying science for the benefit of children — and their parents! My goal was to make the activities so fun that the stories they illustrated would be memorable. Because that's what storytelling is all about!

Bringing it home

The act of writing itself is what gets me up in the morning — that, and a huge cup of coffee. Because of my books, I am privileged to be a member of the Authors Guild. I live and write in a lovely part of New Jersey (there are a few!) with my husband, John, and our son, Evan.

In Bookstores Now!

Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories from Moms

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Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories from Doctors

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Back Pain

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Available now!

How We Did It: Weight Loss Choices that Will Work for You

How We Did It tells the stories of people who have succeeded at their goal of weight loss, whether that means 20 pounds or 220 pounds. Their stories will inspire, inform and encourage you to find a weight loss plan that will work for you.

Too often, weight loss plans are presented as one-size-fits-all propositions. How We Did It compares the wide gamut of weight loss programs--South Beach, the Zone, Atkins, Thin Within, First Place, Weight Watchers and many more--and shows how weight loss seekers have succeeded using these popular plans or by creating their own recipe for success.

This comprehensive look at weight loss plans and those who succeed on them is a resource for both inspiration and information. With chapters that cover everything from childhood obesity to bariatric surgery, the book will help millions of adults who are struggling with their weight. In inspiring profiles, readers meet others just like them who may have tried and failed to lose weight, but who finally found a way to success that suited their lifestyle, personality, spirituality and internal values.

Available now

Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories from Military Chaplains
Serving with our nation’s armed forces, military chaplains are eyewitnesses to amazing displays of divine intervention, whether in small moments of grace or through miracles of breathtaking wonder.

In telling their stories—stories that speak of everything from the loneliness of a Christmas spent far from home to the terror of an armed suicidal soldier—this book makes it clear: Military chaplains face some of the darkest moments of the human experience and bring the light of faith with them.

Their stories will touch your heart and lift your spirits.

Story Collections

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times
Life has always been filled with trials -- illness, job loss, grief, addictions, and so much more. God never promised that our earthly lives would be without difficulties, but He assured us that He will always be with us to share our burdens.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times is filled with stories that show God's presence during a time of trouble. Readers will find encouragement, solace, and strength in these personal stories and prayers.

Among the stories, I share about the year my husband lost his job, and how that devastated our family financially and emotionally. Yet in the midst of the tragedy, we found hope and encouragement from the love and support of family, friends, and even complete strangers!

Available Now!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You
A few years ago I decided it was time to gain control of my weight. I can't tell you why I knew it was time, but I did. I just plunged in -- literally! -- and started swimming laps and eating moderately. I didn't know how my story would end. I just hoped that by doing what I knew to be right something good would happen. And it did!

It didn't happen overnight -- four years and thousands upon thousands of laps later! -- but I managed to drop 30 pounds. Trying on swimsuits last year, I felt almost dizzy taking size 10s into the dressing room!

But to put credit where credit is due, I truly believe it was my son who taught me how it's done. Becoming a mother enabled me to realize that 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there is time enough to accomplish something if you just keep at it. In a story for this Chicken Soup for the Soul collection, I tell you how this concept of "time enough" worked for me.

You can order the book on Amazon by clicking the link above. Just in time for those New Year's Resolutions!

Available now

Praying the News
In Praying the News: Your Prayers Are More Powerful than You Know, readers will find a practical guide to discovering the power, joy and peace of partnering with God through prayer. Veteran news reporters Wendy Griffith and Craig von Buseck offer a comprehensive biblical plan for effective, world-changing prayer. They tell behind-the-scenes stories not only of effective prayer for the events in their news reports but also stories of their intercession while reporting the news. For the book, I contributed a humorous story of an encounter I had in a prayer circle while working as an editor for Dow Jones.

All My Bad Habits I Learned from Grandpa
Grandpa! He's mischievous. He's playful. And he gets away with things mere mortals cannot! In this book of tributes to fun-loving grandfathers, I profile my Grandpa Boyd, a farmer turned hardware store entreprenuer who delighted in teasing my sisters and me.

Also on the Shelves

Make It, Shake It, Mix It Up
In this book, you'll find 44 simple science activities for elementary school children paired with stories of the Christian faith. Make these timeless stories come alive with activities that require nothing more than household materials. Each lesson includes a materials list, directions and an explanation of the science. No science background needed!

Even the Sound Waves Obey Him
"You know something’s a hit when [my sons] want to continue experimenting in their free time." -- Karen Joy, OnlySometimesClever.wordpress.net

In this book, you'll find 44 simple science activities for very young children paired with timeless stories of the Christian faith. The activities require nothing more than household items and a few minutes of your time. Each lesson includes a materials list, directions and an explanation of the science. No science background needed!

Magazine and newspaper articles

The Shots that Reached My Heart
Memorial Day as a remembrance of those who have died in military service held little meaning for me except as a day of picnics and parades, flag-waving and fireworks. That is, until the year I witnessed an honor ceremony in a cemetery behind our house.

Connection Magazine: The Story of Walter Erikson and Edward Tritt

In 1952, two young missionaries trekked into the uncharted interior of the Bird's Head area of Dutch New Guinea, a remote Indonesian island. Walter Erikson and Edward Tritt were the first two missionaries sent there by The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM). The two men died tragically in an inhospitable jungle.

The story of these two young men was overshadowed four years later by the martyrdom of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and four other missionaries to South America. The involvement of a Life magazine photographer brought the story to national attention.

But, now, more than fifty years later, the story of these two men -- Walter Erikson and Edward Tritt -- has come to light once again, in a surprising coda that redeems the story with new purpose. I have told the Erikson-Tritt story here in Columbia International University's magazine, Connection. Click on Legacy: The Story of Walter Erikson and Edward Tritt and open the document as a PDF file.

Unlike many such stories of early missionaries, this one could be brought to life through letters, diaries, newsletters, photos and trial documents. I was thrilled to track down colleagues, friends and family members with first-hand memories of the two men.

Read the story and reignite your admiration for pioneering missionaries like Erikson and Tritt, whose determination and dedication is rarely matched today.

What U.S. 1 Really Taught Me
In the 1990s, I got my start as a freelance writer working for a great local newspaper, U.S. 1. The paper's editor, Rich Rein, taught me what it really means to go after a story and capture its essence. A Princeton graduate with a history at Time and People magazines, Rein honed my writing skills. But that was only a start! I wrote this pseudo-paean to my U.S. 1 editor to reveal what Rich really taught me.

I Lost My Job
When my husband was laid off two years ago, his was the only steady paycheck in our household. This was our first layoff experience, so we had many fears. My first thought: "We're going to end up living under a bridge somewhere."

Why I Think about War
As Memorial Day approached, I got to thinking about how my son gradually became aware of the violence and consequences of war. It is a sad day for parents when their child asks his first questions about death. I wrote about this day for our local newspaper, The Times of Trenton, NJ. Read the piece here.