Sherry Joiner Email and Phone Number

My five loves of my life are writing, speaking, art, working with the elderly and teaching children. In my Sherry Goes Sane journal, I have documented my passage through the dark jungles of my psychosis and the trauma of my teens and early adulthood. I managed to develop a plan for my mental health that works. It involves a variety of things to keep me stable and out of the hospital. A closely-monitored cocktail of medication, regular visits to doctors and counselors, daily walks, and exploring my artistic side through painting. Giving lectures about my past, present, and future enlightens the way I feel about the world and helps me to give hope to those suffering from mental illness. As I paint with oils on Masonite board, I like to discover the ways to make meaningful expressions of myself. I pick up the paintbrush and I am able to work through the past judgments, the inner conflicts, the depression that possess my mind at the time. I love the way my medium moves across my composition and I get lost in my paintings. My painting subjects are flowers, ocean scenes, people, still life's and children.Taking care of the elderly and the children also has helped to open my mind and helped me come in tune with the choices and objectivity of life. For 20 years, I helped people with cancer, dementia, and Alzheimer's, and end stages of their lives. Many with strong wills and frail bodies. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to give to them and help their bodies and minds become stronger by daily walks, feedings, and activities. I taught children at Preschool who had Bipolar Disorder, Autism, and ADHD. Sharing my knowledge and love with them and to help the elderly grow, no matter what their physical disabilities, living circumstances, or special needs may be, is a gift I will cherish forever.