Sharon's Bio
I didn't call myself a writer until 2007, and it was my husband who named me one initially. Writing has been my passion since childhood, though I never dreamed of being able to publish anything until my 40s. I published on my own site and in a local paper, but had never written anything for pay until 2008. Now, it is a critical element of my job and it remains my passion.
I am a middle-aged, happily married woman. I have a teen age son and two step children in their 20s. My parents call me their "flower child", though my friends consider me relatively conservative. I live in Great Falls, VA with our menagerie of cats and dogs and neighboring wildlife. I vacation in New Mexico and Florida at every possible opportunity.
I was born in El Paso, Texas, but was raised just a few miles from where I live now from age 7 until I attended college at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA. I taught middle and high school English for a few years, moved to Okinawa, Japan for a few years during a short first marriage. I earned my M.Ed. in Counseling & Personnel Services from University of Maryland, then taught a few more years, then married my current husband.
I worked with Jeffrey for 12 years as co-owner of a remodeling company, and then I started myNeighborsNetwork.com in 2000. In 2003, I turned my hobby into a business and have been running it ever since.
I am an introvert, shy by nature. I love to read, knit, needlepoint, pet my cats, and of course, write.
17 Books
A year ago, a friend of mine had resolved to read 40 books in 2009. Michelle is, obviously, an avid reader. Impressed and amazed at Michelle’s vast consumption of words, I took on my own New Year’s Resolution. Twenty books was my target.
I was well on my way until my Lyme diagnosis in September. For the last four months of 2009, I read more from my computer screen than from a book.
I finished out the year with a score of 17 books. Not so bad.
Very favorite book: God's Joyful Surprise by Sue Monk Kidd – touched me at a visceral level and gave me joy.
Most educational book: My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor – written from the viewpoint of a stroke survivor, it gave me insight (pardon the pun) into my mother’s world (she survived a major stroke in 1994).
Most exhilarating book: Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn – I have read every single one of Flynn’s books and find each one just as exciting and addicting as the previous one!
Says the Most in the Fewest Words – No More Words by Reeve Lindbergh – Lindbergh’s chronology of caring for her mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, brought sorrow and joy to me simultaneously. It was reassuring to see that most mother/daughter relationships have their respective challenges, intricacies and unending love.
Reading Old Man and the Sea again was fun, but not as exciting as I wanted it to be. But I can never refuse Hemingway.
Soul Repair by Jeff VanVonderen was almost too close for me at times. I think I might read it again in another year.
Biggest disappointment: The Secret by Byrne. I “get it” but I don’t agree that all we need is “the Secret.” Life is just not that simple.
I enjoyed reading The Fight for Fairfax by Russ Banham. I was growing up in Reston during the time frame that Banham describes. I actually know quite a few people in the book. I think every Fairfax county resident should read this book; it took a lot of work by these leaders and innovators to get Fairfax County to where it is today. Sometimes, it’s too easy to think it will all “just happen.” It doesn’t just happen and Banham’s book proves that.
Listed below are the other books I read . . . not great, not bad, just not worth a separate paragraph.
I am maintaining a goal of 20 books for 2010. Hopefully, I’ll be reading less about Lyme Disease and its co-infections.
Blackbox by Julie Schumacher
In Brief; Short Takes on the Personal editors Judith Kitchen & Mary Paumier
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
EMDR by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D.
Simple Grace: Living a Meaningful Life by Beth Jannery
The Wide Open Door by Neeraj Bhushan, MD.
The Meaning of Christmas by Rick Warren
The Women's Book of Positive Quotations (Fairview Press)
Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
