Bob & Lee Woodruff

The Norfolk Forum

A Journey of Inspiration and Best-Selling Co-Authors, In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing

Award-winning journalist Bob Woodruff has covered the most influential stories and breaking news around the globe for more than 30 years. He has reported from the White House to war zones and conflicts, from some of the planet’s most remote areas to some of the most prominent events. Just a few months after being named Co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, in 2006, Woodruff was reporting on the State of the Union from Taji, Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, resulting in a critical injury and a head trauma that put him in a 36-day coma.

Woodruff’s remarkable recovery back to reporting highlights the resiliency of the human spirit. Sharing stories from his inspirational best-selling memoir, In An Instant, Woodruff captivates audiences and leaves them with a new understanding of the fragility of life, the strength of family and friends, the bravery of the military and healthcare professionals who helped save his life, and lessons on how to survive and overcome even the most tragic of circumstances. For his intrepid ability to get at the heart of a story, Woodruff has won numerous awards including many Emmys, two George Foster Peabody Awards, an Alfred I. Dupont Award, and the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism.

Woodruff continues to report for ABC News on a variety of subjects in our rapidly changing world, including military veterans. He spent more than a decade covering wars and conflicts from Kosovo to Afghanistan and Iraq. He has reported in countries all over Asia including North Korea which he accessed four times since 2005, including the 2010 celebration of the 65th Anniversary of the Workers Party. He produced a number of award-winning long-form documentaries, including “After the Blast,” where he and his son, Mack, returned to the spot where he was hit by the bomb.

After his miraculous recovery, the Woodruff family founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation (bobwoodrufffoundation.org) which assists wounded servicemen and their families with the transition back to the home front as they successfully reintegrate into their communities. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has given away about $160 million to assist service members and their families.

Lee Woodruff

As co-author of the New York Times best-selling In an Instant, Lee Woodruff garnered critical acclaim for the compelling and humorous chronicle of her family’s journey to recovery following her husband Bob’s roadside bomb injury in Iraq. Appearing publicly and on national television since the February 2007 publication of their book, the couple has helped put a face on the serious issue of traumatic brain injury among returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, as well as the millions of Americans who live with this often invisible, but life-changing affliction.

They have founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation to assist post-9/11 injured service members, veterans, and their families heal from the physical and silent wounds of war. To date, the non-profit foundation has invested more than $20 million, funding and shaping innovative programs across the country that are helping veterans successfully integrate back into their communities. Her best-selling book Perfectly Imperfect – A Life in Progress, was followed by her first novel Those We Love Most, which became a New York Times best seller.

A freelance writer, Woodruff has penned numerous articles about her family and parenting and she ran a public relations and marketing consulting business for 16 years. She lives in Westchester County, New York, with her husband and four children.