Welcome to the Middle. I’m Sheryl!
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here!
If you’re living a life that doesn’t fit in a sleek sentence - this space is for you.
Maybe you’re caring for aging parents while your grown kids still text you at midnight for streaming passwords.
Maybe you’re a new grandparent, a second-time spouse, or questioning your sense of self.
Maybe you’re just trying to write, think, or breathe in a house that’s never quiet. Or perhaps it’s grown too quiet.
You're not alone.
Hi, I’m Sheryl Parbhoo
Southerner. Mother of five. Gigi. Novelist. Later-in-life MFA student.
Almost 10 years ago, I divorced my husband after 24 years of cross-cultural marriage… and remarried him two years later.
Some people get a second chance. I rewrote the whole chapter.
I published my first novel eight years ago and got my start in the old-school blogosphere—back when women built community through honesty, not branding.
I was a Depeche Mode girl in the ’80s. These days, I fall asleep to white noise and wake up wondering where I left my Voltaren.
This Substack is for people like me:
• Straddling cultures
• Raising and releasing grown kids
• Caring for aging parents
• Figuring out who the hell they are in the middle of it all
If you’re holding yourself together while keeping others alive -
This space is for you.
Why Subscribe?
You’ll get weekly (give or take) reflections, hot takes, book-ish posts, and essays on:
• Cross-cultural marriage
• Parenthood
• Mental health
• Writing the truth (even when it’s messy or makes your family sweat)
Why Substack? Why now?
Because I’ve spent decades holding space for others—kids, parents, patients, in-laws, dinner guests, guilt.
Now? I’m holding space for myself. For my voice.
I’m not here to build a brand. I’m here to say the things I used to swallow.
Substack feels like the right place for this next chapter because:
• I’m old enough to mean what I say.
• I’m young enough to still rewrite the story.
• And I’m finally done asking for permission.
How about you?
Thanks for joining me!
xoxo, Sheryl
