Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress

You know Lee Woodruff from the immediate success of her first book, In an Instant, co-authored with husband and ABC anchor, Bob Woodruff. Now Lee, a lifelong writer with a remarkable straight-from-the-gut style, digs deep in Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress to give honest reflections on navigating life’s rougher pavement, imperfections, trials and triumphs.

From family and friends to motherhood and aging—Lee puts it all out there in this bold, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always surprising take on life. Lee concludes it’s really not about the neck in I Feel Worse About My Knees, contemplates the tipping point when her teenagers stopped wanting hugs and started wanting space in Adolescence, painstakingly realizes she and her sisters are now their parents’ keepers in My Dad, unveils her husband’s consistently curious gift taste in Nothing With a Plug, Please, reflects on leaving a legacy for her three daughters in Jewelry Box and offers insights about what to do—and what not to do—when someone you know faces a crisis.

Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress is a deeply personal look at a well lived life in progress and the many roles played by a modern American wife, mother, daughter, and friend—it is the book you’ll want to share with every woman you know.

REVIEWS

“Lee delivers a collection of 17 brief, plainspoken essays about being a busy mother to four kids and a loving wife, daughter and friend who doesn’t always know the right answers. . . . Self-deprecating and modest, Woodruff is certainly likable, and this collection will broaden her appeal.”
Publishers Weekly

“We’re inspired by how Lee held her family together … and how the couple turned their tragedy into something positive.”
Redbook

“I want to snuggle up with a cup of tea and Lee Woodruff herself. Perfectly Imperfect is like having an old, dear friend who you haven’t seen in awhile regale you with stories about life that you swear could be your own. This book will become my constant companion.”
Rita Wilson — Actress, Director and Producer

“Lee Woodruff is a modern day truth-teller. She is a laugh-out-loud funny, complex, contradictory, compassionate sister in the struggles and sweet successes of contemporary motherhood, sisterhood and wife-dom. An immediately relatable group of recollections and reflections on the often unfair, unexpected and unbelievably beautiful paths of a woman’s life.”
Jamie Lee Curtis –Actress, Director and Author

“Her combination of curiosity, levity and generosity of spirit are enough to keep us way above water. . . She’s downright luminous.”
The Rye Record

“With a great sense of humor and a strong backbone, Lee Woodruff has written an enjoyable book about life in her world.”
The Free Lance-Star

“[a] winning and intimate look at the imperfections of family life.”
Booklist

“Nora Ephron + Erma Bombeck = Lee Woodruff. This is the book for all the women in your lives!”
Liz Smith — Syndicated Columnist

“Reading Lee Woodruff’s warm, joyful, heartfelt essays on everything from sagging knees to facing a child’s disability is a little like staying up all night dishing with your best friend. You’ll nod in agreement, laugh out loud, shed a few tears, and come away with a renewed appreciation for the magic of everyday moments, which Woodruff celebrates with her characteristic humor and grace in Perfectly Imperfect.”
Ann Pleshette Murphy — Parenting contributor for ABC’s Good Morning America
and author of The 7 Stages of Motherhood