Rockford, Ill. (WTVO)—

Deborah Roberts has made her impact in the world with her successful journalism career but her new book, ‘Lessons Learned and Cherished The Teacher Who Changed My Life’ reflects on the teachers that made the biggest impact on her life. She starts off by sharing that the teacher who inspired her to write the book was her sixth grade English teacher Ms. Dorothy Hearty. Deborah describes her as a tough taskmaster who was very demanding. She says that she has such fond memories of her and how she had so much faith in her and believed that Deborah was a smart girl. As a journalist, Deborah was acutely aware that there is a morale crisis in teaching and that teachers are leaving the profession in record numbers. That is why she believes that now is a perfect time to highlight teachers and share our stories on how much they mean to us. One of Deborah’s favorite things about hearing people’s stories is that their favorite teachers aren’t always the nice and fuzzy ones but also the more strict and difficult teachers. Overall, Deborah hopes that her book inspires others to praise the teachers in their lives as well as donate to local organizations to help teachers.