Kristen Wright Matthews is a wife, mother, and lifelong creative. With over 25 years of experience in public relations and freelance writing, Kristen has spent the past nine years telling her own family’s story. After suffering a pregnancy loss when her son CJ was five years old, Kristen’s maternal instinct led her in helping him to cope with his grief. The Matthews’ Family created a charitable project called Blankies 4 My Buddies which afforded CJ the opportunity to donate blankets to provide comfort to other kids dealing with difficult situations as a solution for helping to nurture his mental health. Since then, Blankies 4 My Buddies has grown immensely. CJ has been featured on media outlets, including Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition. Kristen always loved reading children’s books and dreamed of a career in children’s literature for many years. Kristen has written features and cover stories for various magazines, co-authored and edited a few children’s books, and was a co-author of Motherhood Diaries 2. (Brown Girls Publishing). And Then There Was One is her debut children’s book, but for sure not to be the last. 

 

Kristen has a passion for educating and nurturing others. Long before she became a mother, she was a teacher at the school she attended as a child in Los Angeles. She also worked for many years in the nonprofit sector where she advocated for at-risk youth, former gang members, and also contracted with the State of California as a member of a forensic team serving a population of persons with developmental disabilities with criminal offenses. She was recognized for her service by various entities, including being named an “Honorary Angel” on the Steve Harvey Morning Show. 

 

Kristen relocated to the South in 2004 and currently resides in Atlanta, GA, with her husband Chris, 14 year-old CJ, and their rainbow baby, Kollin, 5.