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

When the Light Finds Us is a behind-the-scenes look into the United States prison system and the brutal injustices faced by incarcerated women, told by Judy Henderson, a mother of two who tirelessly fought to improve the rights of incarcerated women, relentlessly maintained her faith, and steadfastly remained close to her children, even from behind bars.

Judy Henderson, a single mother and small-business owner, had her life upended when she was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life in prison, separated from her three-year-old son and thirteen-year-old daughter. For three decades, she navigated the brutal prison system, facing violence, mistreatment, and even encounters with live snakes and scorpions. Yet, through it all, Judy never lost sight of her innocence or her role as a mother, fighting for justice and parenting her children through prison phone calls and visits.

A powerful example of how one can find purpose and growth in the darkest of circumstances Judy transformed her incarceration into a mission of self-improvement and advocacy, earning her GED and paralegal degree, working with nonprofit prison programs, and playing a crucial role in passing Missouri's first battered women's bill. She became a guiding light for other imprisoned women and mothers, shepherding them through the clemency process.

As the years turned into decades, Judy's unwavering faith and some serendipitous events kept her hope alive. With the support of the prosecutor who once sought her conviction and the Missouri governor, Judy's perseverance was rewarded when she was granted clemency and received a full pardon after nearly thirty-five years behind bars.

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

Author: Judy A. Henderson
Publisher: Worthy Books
Published: 10/15/2024
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781546006787

About the Author
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