I’m Sharla, and I write stuff.

Oh, I do other things as well—I teach exercise classes, read books, travel the world, wander the beach, watch too much TV, shop for shoes, and sing super loud in my car.

But mostly, I write stuff—currently my newspaper column, “Sharla Dawn at Dawn,” my magazine column, “Her Perspective,” and a couple of books you may or may not have read (My Vices Collide, a Celebration of Being a Little Messed Up, and Crayon Dawn).

I also write millions of words in my laptop journal, my spiral-bound “diary,” and on any scrap of paper available—receipts, cocktail napkins, the margins of crossword puzzles…I once tried to write a few words on a Kleenex because that’s all that was handy.

I’m not sure why I am so compelled to write stuff down—but I suspect it is, if not coded directly into my DNA, simply an indelible aspect of my personality.  I am, for better or for worse, a “verbal processor.”  But I am also a bit of an introvert.  Writing has always enabled me to process my emotions and explore life’s mysteries without necessarily engaging other humans until I’m ready.

I’m ready. 

I’m ready to share my musings, my insecurities, and my discoveries with anyone who’s interested.  But I want to be polite about it.  Your time is valuable.  I won’t walk up to you and demand that you listen to my latest opinion on the nature of hope, or the health benefits of morning light, or the science behind a purple sky at dawn. But I’ve made those insights available.  I wrote them down.  You can read them if you like.  

I hope you do.  That’s why I put them out there—to be read.  And to offer comfort perhaps, or inspiration, or a new way of seeing things.  Or simply a respite from this complicated world.  

Take a break and read.

As for me, I’d rather write.