“Fill your life with adventure, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” – Unknown
Carolyn Ann Berry continues a legacy her mother began 70 years ago
Carolyn Ann Berry is a retired educator, a grandmother on-the-go, and a keeper of meaningful traditions. With her eight grandchildren by her side, she continues a legacy her mother began when Carolyn Ann was a little girl, and she and her late husband, Gary, continued when their three children were young: creating experiences and adventures that become memories meant to last a lifetime.
The traditions she built with her family
Gary and Carolyn Ann taught their children to be self-sufficient. By age 12, each child could cook, bake, and do laundry—skills rooted in self-determination and independence. But their family life wasn’t just chores. It included: reading together, making crafts, playing board games, visiting extended family, and road trips—their favorite classroom. Those adventures helped their children experience firsthand what they were studying in history, geography, science, and more.
Carolyn Ann’s Professional Journey
Carolyn Ann began her career in public relations for healthcare organizations in Virginia, working with local, national, and international media on several high-profile medical issues—including the first umbilical-cord recovery of stem cells in the United States. After leaving that role, she transitioned into writing and editing. She worked as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines and edited three regional publications for Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.
Photography always has been her avocation; she volunteered to photograph events at a local elementary school—images she shared as slide shows before monthly PTA meetings. Fate stepped in, and about a year later, she began teaching high school English.
When an opportunity arose to work with students with severe disabilities, Carolyn Ann remembered her volunteer experience as a high school camp counselor with the Muscular Dystrophy Association—and she accepted the position. She spent seven remarkable years in that classroom before moving into other education roles.
Carolyn Ann retired in 2018, choosing to do what she values most: spending time with her grandchildren and writing books.
Her Grandmother Gift Philosophy
Carolyn Ann believes children need meaningful adventures more than rooms filled with toys, a philosophy that shapes her gift-giving. Each Christmas, she gives her grandchildren books—including some she has written for them—and purchases two memberships to museums, zoos, or botanical gardens. In 2018, she gave them a book of road-trip adventures she hopes to share with each grandchild before they turn 16. Her goal is to leave a legacy of love. When she becomes a memory, her grandchildren still will feel her warmth and connection through her stories and the adventures they shared. She now is writing a book for other grandparents: Adventures with Grammy: Sixteen Unforgettable Experiences to Share with Your Grandchildren. The work in progress is scheduled to launch Fall 2026.
Podcast
Carolyn Ann hosts a podcast, Adventures with Grammy Podcast. She recorded almost 100 episodes, then put the podcast on hiatus when her mother became ill. Her mother urged her to focus on her adventure book. After Carolyn Ann’s mother died, she picked up where she had left off and continued researching and writing.
Personal Life
Carolyn Ann remarried and lives with her husband and their dog on a farm in Virginia. When she’s not reading, writing, or enjoying adventures with her family, she enjoys volunteering at a local winery and officiating at weddings.
Education
Carolyn Ann earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in print journalism from Virginia Wesleyan College (now Virginia Wesleyan University) and a Master of Science in education with a concentration in special education from Old Dominion University.
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