Client Success: Sheri Roddy’s Memoir of Resilience and Love, “My Son’s Detour To Healthy”

“When we moved to Boston in January 2014 so my son could receive his kidney transplant, I started a blog to keep our friends and family informed back home in New Jersey,” shares author Sheri Roddy.  “That’s when I discovered my love of writing which led to my first book.”

Rootin’ For Red: My Son’s Detour to Healthy chronicles a little boy’s courageous fight with kidney disease and how his family navigates its way through years of medical mayhem in search for a cure.  With his first surgery at six weeks old, everyone believed this would be a one-and-done.  When that wasn’t the case, Sheri, a stay-at-home mom, began her mission for her son’s healing despite the obstacles and challenges thrown her way.

During times of despair, fear, and uncertainty, she was inspired by the caretakers around her in hospitals and medical facilities.  She hopes other caretakers will draw from her experiences of resilience, love, and triumph.  Her riveting story also appeals to a broader audience.

“I have been a medical mom for 25 years. I’d say that makes me an honorary RN, possibly an honorary MD.  My memoir is as real and as raw as it gets,” Sheri admits. “Writing was incredibly cathartic for me. There were times I needed to put the manuscript aside because it became too emotional. Other times, I was so engrossed I’d forget to eat or drink for hours.”

After working on her memoir for seven years, Sheri realized she needed guidance.  “Parts of my manuscript fell flat, and I felt stuck. My cousin, author Kathy Wilson Florence, worked with Wayne on two novels and highly recommended him. After our very first Zoom meeting, I knew Wayne and I would work well together.”

“Wayne’s thorough content review included seventeen pages of guidance and suggestions, amongst ample praise.  Additionally, abundant comments were interspersed in the manuscript.  The combination provided clarity and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Wayne saw another dimension to my story that needed to be shared, and his content review brought that out in me.”

“From Wayne’s coaching, my biggest takeaway was three words forever etched in my mind: show, don’t tell.  There was so much that needed to be shown. I didn’t realize how much more I had in me.  With hard work and patience alongside his advice, I worked through my obstacles and have a better book because of it.”

To other first-time authors, Sheri suggests, “Just write!  I firmly believe everyone has a story waiting to be told. Whatever you put on the page doesn’t have to make sense out of the gate; just write it!  And when you think you’re ready to share your work, share it with Wayne. He will bring gifts out of you which you didn’t know you had.”

Rootin’ For Red: My Son’s Detour to Healthy is available in paperback.

Visit author Sheri Roddy‘s website.