When the Light Finds Us: From a Life Sentence to a Life Transformed - Hardcover

by Judy A. Henderson (Author)

A testament to the indomitable human spirit and the power of a mother's love, this story of a wrongfully incarcerated woman's fight for freedom and her family will inspire all.

Judy Henderson was a single mother with a successful small business of her own when she was arrested and convicted of a crime she did not commit. Sentenced to life in prison, Henderson faced the untenable: leaving her young children as she entered the brutal prison system. Even as she faced violence, mistreatment, Henderson persevered with hope and determination. She never lost sight of her innocence--or her deeply held role as a mother. She also gained new purpose, fighting for her clemency and for the rights of incarcerated women, especially mothers. As the years passed, Henderson experienced hope through serendipitous events and calls, letters, and too infrequent visits with her children and other family. With the support of the prosecutor who once sought her conviction and the Missouri governor, Henderson was granted clemency and received a full pardon after nearly thirty-five years behind bars.

When the Light Finds Us is a gripping narrative that explores the depths of human resilience and the transformative power of hope. Henderson's story will inspire readers to persevere through their own struggles, reminding us of the strength of the human spirit and the unbreakable bond of a mother's love. In a world often filled with darkness, Judy Henderson's journey is a beacon of light, illuminating the path to redemption and the triumph of justice.

Author Biography

About the Author:
Judy Henderson was a young, middle-class, divorced mother of two who was busy growing her own business when her life was turned upside down. She was wrongly convicted of a crime she didn't commit and given a life sentence. Behind bars, she focused on parenting her children, obtaining her paralegal degree, and improving the rights of women. Thirty-five years later, in 2019, she was exonerated and pardoned, her sentence commuted.
Today, she savors time with her two adult children and two grandchildren while sharing her motivational, faith-filled message of overcoming obstacles in the face of adversity, serving in leadership positions with Catholic Charities, and advocating to improve the conditions and rights of incarcerated women, especially mothers and their children.

About the Writer:
Jimmy Soni is an award-winning writer whose latest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley was a debut bestseller that earned praise from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, and many other review outlets. Described as "an intensely magnetic chronicle" (New York Times) and "engrossing," the book includes hundreds of interviews Soni conducted, including exclusive sit-downs with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and others.
Soni's previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics, and the Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a book Fortune
magazine calls a "charming account of one of the twentieth century's most distinguished scientists." He is also the co-author of Jane's Carousel, completed with the late Jane Walentas, which captured one woman's remarkable twenty-five-year journey to restore a beloved carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
He resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. www.JimmySoni.com