Andrea Wilson Woods
   


Andrea Wilson Woods Bio


Andrea Wilson Woods is a freelance writer who has worked as a resume analyst for Getinterviews.com. As an adjunct faculty member at Kaplan University, she taught a Writing Strategies course. At the University of Southern California (USC), Andrea worked as a graduate teaching assistant; prior to that position, USC's School of Cinematic Arts hired her to be its development writer and editor. As a family service specialist at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, she facilitated women’s groups in the Legacy for Children research study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and managed by the Research Triangle Institute. During the seven years she raised her sister Adrienne, Andrea worked as a primary and secondary school teacher.

At USC, Andrea obtained a master's degree in professional writing—with an emphasis in narrative nonfiction. Andrea received her certification in Fund Raising with a focus on Institutional Development from UCLA Extension. She graduated cum laude from USC with a B.A. in humanities that included an emphasis in theatre and a minor in women's studies. During her undergraduate years, she received numerous scholarships and was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society. Recently, Andrea's nonfiction writing has been recognized in the Writer's Digest national competition (honorable mention) and the National Writer's Association contest (sixth place).

A former Air Force brat who was born in Kansas but raised in Arkansas and Alabama, Andrea moved to Los Angeles to pursue Hollywood stardom. In her previous life, Andrea acted in film, television, and theatre; danced at every theme park in Southern California; directed community and children's theatre; and wrote/produced a play in Hollywood. Though she no longer pursues the performing arts, she is still very passionate about them and regularly sees performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.


Andrea's life changed forever when she got physical custody of her eight-year-old sister Adrienne in 1994. Raising Adrienne has been Andrea's greatest joy in life; losing Adrienne to liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC) in 2001 has been her greatest loss. Andrea started Blue Faery because she doesn't want another person to lose a loved one to HCC, and she wants the world to know Adrienne's spirit, strength, and courage.


On My Nightstand
 
I am always reading multiple books at a time. Here's a glimpse at what I'm reading now.
 
Reading Memoirs:

The Friend Who Got Away

Edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell

These 20 stories of "women's true-life tales of friendships that blew up, burned out, or faded away" made me feel better about the friends that I have lost in the past. The two stories that resonated the most with me were Ann Hood's "How I Lost Her" and Helen Schulman's "First in Her Class."

 

Reading other Nonfiction:

This is Why You're Fat (and how to get thin forever)

By Jackie Warner


I bought this book as part of my EMAO experience. Jackie Warner's blunt style is exactly what I want in a trainer. Her food tips are excellent, and her power circuit training routines will kick your ass.

 
Reading Fiction:

Love in the Asylum
By Lisa Carey

A woman on an airplane gave me this book; she said that I had to read it. When I finally sat down to read this novel (six years later), I finished it in two days. The complexity of the story, which includes three narratives, is impressive, but the heart of the plot and characters moved me to tears.

Exercising My Ass Off

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