On Saturday 2, Jen Petro-Roy, a full-time author, went to Roudenbush to talk about books she has written at an event sponsored by Girl Scouts.

Petro-Roy wrote Good Enough, P.S. I Miss You, and You are Enough, all of which were based on her life experiences. 

When Petro-Roy was young, she liked to read and write which inspired her to become an author. She has written several stories, one of which was then performed as a play in her third-grade class.

As Petro-Roy became older she stopped writing. In college, she feared of not being better than others in college. Later, she was diagnosed with anorexia, an eating disorder that causes people to be obsessed with their weight, which caused her to go into a training facility. After a couple of years, she came out feeling much better. 

“For me, it took time to realize it is okay to not to follow everyone, but to be who you are,”Petro-Roy said.

When she got married she started to write more, but struggled to complete a book.

“I didn’t realize how much it took to become an author,”Petro-Roy said.

Later, while having a baby to take care of, she started to write a book. After she finished the book, it was rejected many times. So, she wrote a couple more books and accumulated more rejections until she wrote her first published book: P.S. I Miss You.

After she published P.S. I Miss You, she went on book tours for middle schools. After many of the schools declined she wondered why.

“It was an interesting experience that a lot of adults don’t realize that kids experience things at this age,” Petro-Roy said.

Petro-Roy puts many of her life experiences into her books such as having a crush in P.S I Miss You, having anorexia in Good Enough.

“I am someone who defines myself by the stuff I did,” Petro-Roy said.

Petro-Roy explains why she likes to write middle-grade level books. She thinks that it is the time where students are discovering who they are. With her books, she hopes they will understand and feel better. 

Senior Riana Kelley, a girl scout, went to the talk and thought it was inspirational and motivating to hear what Petro-Roy said. 

“It was really inspirational to hear about eating disorders and how it’s possible to get better even though it is hard from someone who has had anorexia,”Kelley said. 

Petro-Roy tries to cover many topics and themes she believes are important for readers to know it is okay to be themselves.

“It is okay to not to follow everyone but to be who you are,” Petro-Roy said.