Marilyn L. Dodge brings a lifetime of insight, compassion, and child-centered care to her storytelling. With advanced training in counseling psychology and rehabilitation, she understands the emotional challenges children face at home, school, and beyond.

Her work with young people across different communities inspired Bennett’s Secret Magical Power, a gentle story that helps children recognize big feelings, build confidence, and learn calming tools they can carry with them in everyday life with courage, kindness, patience, and quiet hope.

Marilyn L. Dodge brings warmth, experience, and deep understanding of children’s emotions to every page she writes. A graduate of Rutgers University, she later earned her MA and M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation from Columbia University.

Throughout her career, Marilyn has worked with children from inner-city, suburban, and rural communities, giving her a broad view of the feelings, fears, hopes, and challenges young readers may carry.

She has also lived and worked in England and Japan, where she observed that children around the world often face similar emotional struggles. Now living in Virginia with her Yorkshire Terrier, Ripley, Marilyn continues to draw from her professional background and personal love for children. As a proud grandmother of Bennett, she created Bennett’s Secret Magical Power to offer young readers a gentle, memorable way to understand big feelings, practice calming skills, and believe in their own quiet strength. Her stories encourage kindness, patience, courage, and problem-solving through child-friendly moments that families, teachers, and counselors can discuss together in meaningful ways. With a caring voice and practical purpose, she writes stories that help children feel seen, supported, and capable of making calmer choices every single day.

Marilyn L. Dodge is a compassionate author, counselor, and educator whose work reflects decades of experience supporting children through emotional challenges. A Rutgers University graduate, she earned both an MA and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation from Columbia University. Her professional journey has taken her into inner-city, suburban, and rural communities, where she listened closely to children’s worries, frustrations, hopes, and everyday struggles.

She has also lived and worked in England and Japan, gaining a wider understanding of how children across cultures face many of the same feelings. Now living in Virginia with her Yorkshire Terrier, Ripley, Marilyn writes with warmth, purpose, and practical insight. As Bennett’s proud grandmother, she created this story to help young readers feel seen, calmer, and more confident in everyday emotional moments.