Jennifer Matesa

I’ve been been writing for more than 20 years about women and families, health, and personal change.

My first book, Navel-Gazing: The Days and Nights of a Mother in the Making, a journal of pregnancy, was chosen by Lamaze International as a top-ten pregnancy book and an award-winner for offering expectant parents a portrayal of a positive experience of childbirth.

My biography of a young breast cancer patient, Knowing Stephanie, is an exploration of the ways a 30-year-old woman facing a dire diagnosis was able to reconstruct her life through taking charge of her medical treatments and pursuing emotional and spiritual transformation.

For 12 years I covered social issues at a high level for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, producing pieces that educated Congress members, state legislators, governors’ staffs, and the public about progressive health policy.

I’ve taught writing at all educational levels, from kindergarten children through high school kids. I’ve also taught journalism and nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh.