‘A love letter to Wichita’: Documentary chronicles Jenny Wood’s miraculous journey

The story of Jenny Wood is a story of love and heartbreak, of hope and despair, of joy amid unimaginable grief.

In May, the beloved musician barely survived a car crash in downtown Wichita that killed her mother and niece. Wood spent weeks in the intensive-care unit and months recovering from a traumatic brain injury, learning how to walk and talk and sing again.

On Sunday she will perform at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine. As the sun sets, The Wichita Eagle will premiere a new film that chronicles Wood’s extraordinary journey and the community that rallied around her.

“I Am Not Scared: The Miracle of Jenny Wood” is a 40-minute documentary written and directed by Eagle photographer Travis Heying. After Sunday’s premiere, it will be available online at Kansas.com.

Heying, who has worked at The Eagle since 1997, decided to pursue a full-length documentary after meeting Wood in July. The Eagle published an update on Wood’s recovery at the time, but Heying felt there was more to tell.

“I thought it was another example of how something violent can happen to you so suddenly, without warning, and that seems to have become such a fixture in our culture,” Heying said.

“One day you’re walking into a Walmart, and the next minute you’re running for your life. . . . A lot of people were rooting for Jenny Wood to not be one more victim of those circumstances.”

Many of the people who rooted for Wood are featured in the film, including Micala Gingrich-Gaylord, her close friend; Mary Wright, owner of the Old Mill Tasty Shop, where Wood worked as a waitress; Dr. James Haan, who led her medical team at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis; Robin Macy, a fellow musician and mentor; and Lacey Cruse, a Sedgwick County commissioner who organized a vigil shortly after the crash.

Heying also interviewed radio personalities, former teachers, and students and parents who met Wood through her anti-bullying efforts at area schools.

He filmed, edited and produced the documentary in less than three months.

“It’s this great comeback story. It’s a cool music story. It’s all those things,” Heying said.

“But I feel like what we’ve created in the end is almost a love letter to Wichita — like a way to thank them for being so awesome.”

The film draws its title from a song featured on Wood’s 2018 album, “Truth Has Legs.” Heying listened to it on repeat during a road trip and found the lyrics eerily relevant to the singer’s current plight:

Promise you’ll do

All that I should do.

When I finally get there,

I’ll honestly tell you,

I am not scared.

Wright, the restaurant owner, told Heying she found comfort in that song during the weeks following the car crash, when it wasn’t clear whether Wood would survive. Holding the singer’s hand in the hospital, Wright would hum the tune into Wood’s ear.

“It felt like Jenny wrote that as a lullaby to soothe herself,” Wright told Heying.

“That’s when I decided: That’s it — that has to be the title,” Heying said. “We kind of built the film around the song, and the song became another character in the story.”

Wood’s journey will continue, as she tries to heal from physical and psychological injuries. Proceeds from Sunday’s music festival and film screening at the Bartlett Arboretum will go toward her recovery.

“A central theme of this film and this story is karma,” Heying said. “Here’s somebody who has done so much for her community, and then when she needed it, her community gave it right back.”

Jenny in the Wood

What: A musicfest celebrating Wichita musician Jenny Wood. Performers include The Cherokee Maidens & Sycamore Swing, Split Lip Rayfield, Katy Guillen & the Girls, and Jenny Wood. At dusk, the Wichita Eagle will premiere a new documentary, “I Am Not Scared: The Miracle of Jenny Wood.”

Where: Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine

When: Sunday, Sept. 29. Gates open at 3 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $30 and $100, with proceeds benefiting Wood’s recovery; children 12 and under, free. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.com.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM.