Jeanette Leardi, M.A., is a freelance writer and editor, and a community educator, coach and consultant. An avid journaler since the age of 13, she has taught the therapeutic benefits of journaling, spiritual writing, memoir writing and personal mythmaking. Her presentations on caregiver and health-care practitioner support, brain fitness, stress management and older workforce development are popular with health-care professionals, continuing education students, caregivers and older adults. Her poetry, essays, book reviews and nonfiction feature articles have appeared in such publications as The Charlotte Observer, The Dallas Morning News, The Oregonian, Sesame Street Parents' Guide, and Parents magazine. She has a master’s degree with honors in English from Rutgers University and a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.