{"id":144,"date":"2025-11-04T21:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/?page_id=144"},"modified":"2025-12-30T17:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:41:21","slug":"about-the-author","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/index.php\/about-the-author\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Author"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"144\" class=\"elementor elementor-144\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b8c3460 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b8c3460\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4100722 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4100722\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">About the Author<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a4b4608 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"a4b4608\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"about-sec\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c0e35b3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c0e35b3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24beb1f elementor-hidden-desktop elementor-hidden-laptop elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"24beb1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"779\" height=\"914\" src=\"https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mask-group-1-min.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-263\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mask-group-1-min.png 779w, https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mask-group-1-min-256x300.png 256w, https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mask-group-1-min-768x901.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc69db3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"fc69db3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a1256d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a1256d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">about the author<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-866975b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"866975b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">JEANNIE <br>\nOPDYKE SMITH<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a3e7f8b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a3e7f8b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Jeannie Opdyke Smith grew up watching the ripple effects of one woman\u2019s courage. Her mother, Irene Gut Opdyke\u2014a teenage nurse in Nazi-occupied Poland\u2014risked everything to shelter Jewish families. That story became the award-winning memoir <em>In My Hands<\/em>, inspired the Broadway play <em>Irena\u2019s Vow<\/em>, and was recently adapted for the screen. Jeannie now carries this torch with a message both timeless and timely: every day, people can do extraordinary good.<\/p><p>In <em>Irene\u2019s Daughter<\/em> (memoir), Jeannie invites readers behind the curtain\u2014into family rooms, hospital corridors, school auditoriums, and backstage moments where the legacy of courage kept unfolding. It\u2019s a daughter\u2019s honest reckoning with fear, grief, humor, and providence\u2014and a field guide for ordinary bravery.<\/p><p>Her contemporary book, <em>The Other Side of Thirst<\/em>, explores love, loss, and the ache to be known. Through the lens of a modern \u201cSamaritan woman,\u201d Jeannie charts a path from isolation and regret to living water. The result is tender and fiercely hopeful\u2014perfect for readers and small groups longing for a do-over that actually lasts.<\/p><p>Off the page, Jeannie is a seasoned speaker who has addressed thousands\u2014from Broadway theaters to classrooms and community centers. She\u2019s known for disarming warmth, vivid narrative, and clear next steps that turn inspiration into action. When she\u2019s not on the road, you\u2019ll find her traveling with her husband, or spending time with whichever young person happens to be hanging around their home&#8230; or with a stack of marked-up books, planning the next story that just might change someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About the Author about the author JEANNIE OPDYKE SMITH Jeannie Opdyke Smith grew up watching the ripple effects of one woman\u2019s courage. Her mother, Irene Gut Opdyke\u2014a teenage nurse in Nazi-occupied Poland\u2014risked everything to shelter Jewish families. That story became the award-winning memoir In My Hands, inspired the Broadway play Irena\u2019s Vow, and was recently [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-144","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>About the Author - Jeannie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/readjeannie.com\/index.php\/about-the-author\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About the Author - Jeannie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About the Author about the author JEANNIE OPDYKE SMITH Jeannie Opdyke Smith grew up watching the ripple effects of one woman\u2019s courage. 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