Hi, I'm Sarah! 🌳💚
Sarah Woodard (she/her)
Award-Winning Author, Storykeeper & Catalyst for Healing Humanity and Mother Earth
I'm a vegan writer, Nature photographer, Nature-based perception guide, cat mom, and enthusiastic plushie collector. 🐈 🧸
I believe stories have the power to help us remember things we've forgotten about ourselves, our relationships, and our place in the greater Whole.
My role in this lifetime is to share timeless human stories from when we were more deeply connected to Nature, our Souls, and our Communities.
I do that through children's books, poetry, nonfiction, photography, and Nature-connected spiritual teaching.
My hope is that something in my work will inspire you to look at the world a little differently, reconnect with what matters to you, and recognize the Sacred in All Life.
Why I Do What I Do
I believe we can create a world where people live peacefully, where everyone has room to show up authentically, and where we treat Mother Earth and All Life as Sacred.
That's the world I want to help create.
Nature is our first teacher. Long before we learn to explain the world through words, we experience it through our senses and our relationships with the living Beings around us.
Somewhere along the way, many of us lose touch with that connection.
We learn to separate ourselves from Nature, from one another, and sometimes from our own Souls.
I believe we can remember another way of living.
And I believe stories are one of the ways we get there.
Why Children Matter So Much to Me
Children are magical beings.
They often recognize things that adults have learned to overlook. They ask questions we stop asking. They notice the feelings of animals, the beauty of small creatures, and the unfairness of situations we've come to accept.
I love helping children recognize that their voices matter.
I believe children can change the adults around them, and that their compassion and curiosity can help change the world.
That's why my illustrated children's books feature memorable characters, meaningful experiences, and subjects that invite conversations between young readers and the adults in their lives.
Many include resources for readers who want to learn more.
And I also believe adults deserve stories that invite them to question, wonder, and reconnect.
Which is why I write for grown-ups, too.
The Questions Behind My Work
There are questions I keep returning to, no matter what I'm writing.
Why do we so often treat humanity as separate from Nature?
What would change if we approached other living Beings with the same respect we want for ourselves?
Why do people struggle to find true belonging, even in communities that say everyone is welcome?
What might we recognize if we looked at the shared experiences beneath different spiritual and religious traditions?
These questions appear throughout my work.
Sometimes they become stories about animals or children finding their voices.
Sometimes they become poems about the human experience.
Sometimes they lead me into nonfiction, where I can explore a subject through research, photography, and reflection.
And sometimes they become conversations with adults who are reconsidering what they've been taught about spirituality and belonging.
I don't expect everyone who reads my work to agree with me.
I hope they'll bring their own experiences and questions to it.
The Many Ways I Share Stories
Beyond the Books
I love talking with people about the ideas behind my writing.
That includes conversations with adults, speaking engagements, and visits with children at schools, libraries, camps, and other gatherings.
I enjoy reading my stories aloud, answering questions, and exploring the ways books can lead to conversations about the world around us.
I'm also open to discussing custom workshops when a group has a particular subject it would like to explore.
And when I'm not writing, photographing Nature, or talking about the things I'm passionate about, there's a good chance I'm spending time with my cats or enjoying my ever-growing collection of plushies. 🐈💚
Story Time
Leila's Goal
During COVID, I recorded a reading of Leila's Goal for an online book event that took the place of an in-person gathering.
I decided to pretend we were all together at a book fair!
The video is still here because I love sharing stories with readers, even when we can't be in the same room.
Pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy!
Thanks for Being Here 💚
Whether you've come for a children's story, a poem, a photograph, a spiritual question, or because you love Nature as much as I do, I'm glad you found your way here.
I believe the way we treat Mother Earth, one another, and the other beings who share this planet matters.
That's why I write.
And that's why I keep telling stories