As a teen, Jennifer Rothschild envisioned herself working professionally as a cartoonist. But when she was 15, her plans changed abruptly. She began having trouble seeing, and by the time doctors determined she had a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, she already was legally blind - and doctors said it would get worse.
"Blindness ... was not what we expected to hear that day," Rothschild said this morning during Springfield Business Journal's 12 People You Need to Know breakfast, of the life-changing diagnosis.
Allowing the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul" to define her life, Rothschild turned her efforts to music and writing.
She recorded her first album in 1986, but she said that when the introductions to her songs took longer than performing them, she realized that her passion for communicating with the visual arts had been replaced with a passion for communicating with word pictures. Her business, Jennifer Rothschild Inc., is born of that passion.
"I feel I have been entrusted with a message that says, 'Yes, your life is meaningful,'" Rothschild said.
Her work - giving hope to others through a faith-based platform - is accomplished through writing books and devotionals, speaking engagements around the country and the Fresh Grounded Faith conferences produced by her company. She's also had national TV appearances, including stints on "Good Morning, America" and "Dr. Phil."
"One advantage of being blind is that you can't see the audience," she said, noting that her most vivid TV gig was on "Dr. Phil," where her purpose was to offer hope to the parents of the only known living set of blind and deaf triplets.
"These people were heroic to me," she says.
Rothschild, who has two sons with husband Philip, director of Missouri State University's entertainment management program, travels about 35 weekends a year for her work. She said that while sales of the company's products - which include her books, devotionals, coffee and CDs - are down about 10 percent this year, conference attendance has been steady amid the recession.
Rothschild fielded questions from the audience at The Clarion Hotel's Newsroom Café, including one about the strength of America's Christian foundation.
"I think our Christian faith is at risk," she said. "Not because of other religions or secular influences, but because of a lapse in biblical literacy. ... At the intersection of logic and wonder is the Christian message. .... As people grow up, they forget the wonder."
In June, Rothschild finished recording a CD that will debut in June, and she's at work on her next book. With a working title of "When You Feel Like God Has Failed," she said the book will answer six big questions, including "God, is this fair?" That book will likely debut in fall 2010.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
