{"id":13116,"date":"2025-12-02T08:57:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13116"},"modified":"2025-12-02T08:57:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:57:16","slug":"a-work-of-heart-uwls-christy-wopat-turns-grief-and-empathy-into-award-winning-books","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/a-work-of-heart-uwls-christy-wopat-turns-grief-and-empathy-into-award-winning-books\/","title":{"rendered":"A work of heart: UWL\u2019s Christy Wopat turns grief and empathy into award-winning books"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
A launch party for Christy Wopat\u2019s latest book, \u201cOverruled\u201d will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 15 at Holmen Public Library. Wopat\u2019s award-winning memoir, \u201cAlmost a Mother: Love, Loss, and Finding Your People When Your Baby Dies\u201d was published in 2018, followed by three more books about infant loss and grief. Wopat, ’08 earned her Master’s in Education & Professional Development degree from UWL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Christy Wopat was a middle school teacher, she began every school year with the same promise:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI will love these kids no matter what.\u201d<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That pledge meant seeing each student not through preconceived ideas or past reputations, but for who they truly were.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still,\u00a0as\u00a0new students walked through\u00a0her classroom\u00a0door, Wopat noticed\u00a0a familiar trend.\u00a0One\u00a0\u201cbad kid\u201d or a few \u201cbad kids\u201d\u00a0were\u00a0already labeled as troublemakers.\u00a0Once\u00a0branded\u00a0as the\u00a0\u201cbad kid,\u201d students often felt compelled to live up to it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wopat remembers one boy in particular who struggled with anger.\u00a0Other students would provoke him just to watch him lose control.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would see him after he exploded, and he was so regretful and sad,\u201d says Wopat. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of research about how adults\u2019 reactions to boys in early grades can shape their self-esteem.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of reacting with frustration, Wopat met the student with empathy and curiosity. She took time to understand what he was dealing with and\u00a0reflected back\u00a0to him not anger, but kindness.\u00a0That connection stuck, and\u00a0the two\u00a0still keep\u00a0in touch today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Giving a voice to the \u2018bad kid\u2019<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Now Wopat, a 2008 UWL alumna,\u00a0is sharing that message more broadly through her newest book,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOverruled<\/a>,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0be released Nov. 15. Written for ages 8\u201312, the story follows Mac, a boy blamed for pushing a classmate off the monkey bars \u2014 even though no one saw what happened. His teacher, Mrs. Justice, decides to hold a classroom mock trial to uncover the truth. What the students discover\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0Mac\u2019s guilt, but the complexity behind who he really is.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe dedication in the book is to my students,\u201d says Wopat. \u201cIf you\u2019ve been forced to fit in a box, remember \u2014 boxes can break.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing from her 20-plus years as a teacher, Wopat wanted to create a story for all the kids who feel limited by labels. She\u2019ll take vacation from her role at UWL this fall to visit schools, share the book, and talk with middle schoolers about writing, self-perception and empathy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited because I miss the kids!\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0says. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about writing, and about how judging others can keep us from really seeing them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding healing through writing<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Wopat\u2019s journey as an author began in heartbreak. In 2009, she lost her infant twins, Sophie and Aiden. Searching\u00a0the library shelves and even Google for\u00a0guidance, she found nothing that could\u00a0help\u00a0and no\u00a0honest account that matched her grief.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00a0she started blogging. Through her writing, she connected with others who had also lost babies. The community that formed in the comments of those blogs \u2014 people sharing emotions too heavy for family or friends \u2014 became her lifeline.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those raw reflections became her first book,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAlmost a\u00a0Mother: Love, Loss, and Finding Your People When Your Baby Dies<\/a>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0The memoir earned the\u00a0<\/span>Norbert Blei\/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award<\/span><\/a>, given to the best nonfiction book by a Wisconsin writer in the contest year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted people to not feel alone,\u201d says Wopat. \u201cI felt\u00a0really alone. These stories are from my heart.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0meant to help people feel seen \u2014 and even make them laugh.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, Wopat has written two\u00a0additional\u00a0books on infant loss \u2014\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAfter All\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cAlways Ours,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0a picture book \u2014 and now, her middle-grade novel\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOverruled.\u201d\u00a0Her openness has led to speaking engagements at conferences, workshops\u00a0and classrooms around the world, and a role helping others find healing through storytelling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing to teach and connect<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

After 21 years as a middle school French and fourth-grade teacher, Wopat joined\u00a0UWL\u2019s School of Education<\/a>\u00a0in June 2024. As a field experience coordinator and communication specialist, she still sees herself as an educator at heart.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her writing has also led to meaningful connections on campus, including with UWL Head Women\u2019s Basketball Coach Moran Lonning, who lost her infant son, Charlie \u201cBubba,\u201d in 2024. Wopat now helps support events that Lonning is organizing for\u00a0Bubba\u2019s Fund<\/a>, which is a Donor Advised Fund through the La Crosse Area Community Foundation, with the mission to turn unimaginable loss into a powerful legacy of life-saving tools, joyful play and lasting impact for children.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the upcoming Bubba\u2019s Youth Night on Jan. 10, 2026, basketball players will wear jerseys honoring infants who have died \u2014 including Sophie and Aiden, whose names will appear on one of the jerseys \u2014 raising awareness for pregnancy and infant loss.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on her journey, Wopat says writing has helped her process grief and reconnect with her purpose.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt works for me \u2014 writing, talking about it, feeling seen,\u201d she says. \u201cAt my core,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0still that teacher who wants to help people understand each other. I still just want to tell stories.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/a-work-of-heart\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Christy Wopat was a middle school teacher, she began every school year with the same promise:\u00a0\u201cI will love these kids no matter what.\u201d\u00a0 That pledge meant seeing each student not through preconceived ideas or past reputations, but for who they truly were.\u00a0\u00a0 Still,\u00a0as\u00a0new students walked through\u00a0her classroom\u00a0door, Wopat noticed\u00a0a familiar trend.\u00a0One\u00a0\u201cbad kid\u201d or a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-13116","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13116"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}