Martha Bray & Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy- Tragedy to Triumph: Rebuilding a Traumatized Heart

When Martha Bray's husband Bob is killed in a devastating traffic accident (by a criminal who's evading police) it smashes her world like a meteor striking Earth. She navigates debilitating grief while somehow finding humor in life, eventually braving online dating on an often-hilarious quest to regain true love.

Martha Gallman Bray is a lifelong resident of Bellingham and graduate of Western Washington University. She has taught at Mount Baker High School and Bellingham Christian School. For decades, along with raising two sports-loving sons, she served the family business as wife of the director of Dairy Distributing, a role that included regular delivery of homemade breakfast casseroles to the staff.

Martha is a keen pickleball player who divides her time between Bellingham and Arizona.

Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. She lived in London for seven years, writing for global magazines. She graduated in journalism from Iowa State University and holds an MBA from City University in London.

Today she ghostwrites memoirs for anyone with a story to tell. Martha's Tragedy to Triumph is her fourth book. See cherylstritzelmccarthy.com

Cheryl and Martha met playing pickleball.