Mary Byrne Hoffmann

Mary Byrne Hoffmann (1950-2019) lead a remarkable life as a writer, educator, spiritual leader, story teller, poet, playwright, lecturer, mother, spouse and grandmother.

After distinguished careers in media literacy and teaching, Mary Byrne was drawn to writing stories of whimsy, wonder, magic and delight.

Inspired by days of play, imagination and wonder with her granddaughter, Mary Byrne created "Grammy! Grammy! and the Magic Hat", published by Dayton Press.

Before her untimely passing from a cerebral hemorrhage in July 2019, Mary Byrne had also completed collaborating with illustrator Adrienne Kaplan on "How to Do Old", a delightful book with words of wisdom and whimsy on how to live our lives with joy. Look for publication later in 2019. (Hopefully in time to be a great gift.)

For people interested in Mary Byrne's well researched book on Media Literacy in Spiritual Education, here's her professional media literacy bio:

Mary Byrne's media career began as a producer of network TV documentaries for the National Council of Churches. Along the way, she earned several awards for docs on homelessness, teens in crisis, and racism. After receiving a divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary. Mary Byrne brought the two worlds of spirituality and media together by training teachers and clergy on media integration into religious education. She also taught faith and media courses at the University of Dayton and Princeton Theological Seminary and created a media-based religion curriculum, "Discernment: The Journal of the Soul" for high school students.