Hope Cross is the Founder of The Cultivating Hope Foundation Inc. and Cultivating Hope Training and Consulting. She makes her home in Arcadia, Florida with her husband Matthew Landers. Hope’s personal and professional life experiences culminate to give her unique insight into life Beyond the Barbed Wire. She spent her childhood years in an environment infused with drug use and trafficking, criminal activity, abuse, deceit, and chaos. Upon entering the workforce, she started work with teenagers incarcerated in the juvenile justice system. Her journey also took her into the field of social work, serving at-risk families within the community. Later, she continued her work with juveniles involved in the justice system with her work with Eckerd Connects. Most recently, she founded The Cultivating Hope Foundation, Inc. and Cultivating Hope Training and Consulting to share her expertise with organizations in the areas of Trauma-Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, Resilience, and Reentry. Hope also leads Reentry small group mentoring sessions with returning citizens incarcerated at the Desoto Correctional Institute in Desoto County. Hope is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work in social services and the justice system and has the passion to cultivate hope in the lives of individuals throughout the globe. Statistics say that the outcome of Hope’s life should have been much different; however, there are many elements she can pinpoint throughout the course of her life that helped her navigate through adversity and beat the odds. Beyond the Barbed Wire is an autobiographical workbook that gives readers a glimpse into some of the darkest crevices of Hope’s life and walks readers through a series of lessons and thought-provoking reflections designed to cultivate hope and resiliency. Beyond the Barbed Wire is excellent for small groups, as well as for individuals who desire to walk through the lessons independently.