I write to learn... 
To understand who we are. Why we do what we do. And what our lives might be showing us.
For more than thirty years, my work as a journalist, essayist, memoirist, and teacher has been driven by the same question: What’s really going on here?
Introducing my new memoir:
The Second Story
When the Life You Built No Longer Feels Like Enough
If you’ve ever woken up in the middle of the night and wondered, “Is this all there is?” you’re not alone.
The Second Story is an honest, often funny memoir about what happens when the strategies that once helped us succeed—proving, pleasing, and performing—stop working. What begins as a search for how to age well becomes a deeper exploration of how to live well.
Coming September 22 from Hazelwood Press
Read Chapter 1 for free
Click here to read Chapter 1 of The Second Story
Preorder the eBook on Amazon. Also available at Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and independent bookstores.
“Shari Caudron’s memoir might just change your life…Essential reading for everyone over 40.”
—Steven Petrow, columnist for The Washington Post and author of The Joy You Make
“The Second Story explores what happens when outward success collides with an inner longing for something more. Thoughtful and deeply relatable, it reminds us that aging isn't a crisis to overcome but an invitation to become more fully ourselves.”
—Chip Conley, founder of Modern Elder Academy and author of Learning to Love Midlife
“Caudron imbues this memoir of searching for relevance and purpose at age 61 with candor and sincerity… she writes with a rare frankness about feelings and vulnerabilities that often prove difficult to talk about… Her open, relatable journey has power.”
—Book Life Reviews, Publishers Weekly
About Shari
Author of The Second Story, Who Are You People?, and What Really Happened
I’m a journalist, essayist, and teacher with a lifelong curiosity about the complicated realities of being human. My work has taken me from investigating people with unusual passions to helping memoir writers understand their own experiences.
Most recently, I’ve turned that curiosity inward in my new memoir, The Second Story.
I write on Substack about the moments—painful, perplexing, and sometimes funny—that reveal something unexpected about who we are.
“I go through my emails every morning and delete, delete, delete, send to spam, delete. Then I read the ones that matter. This one matters.” —Jo
“As always, this piece went straight to the core—so real, so utterly relatable.” —Susan
“This poignant, reflective essay addresses many of the questions I’ve been wrestling with. This is the kind of writer and writing I love.” —Leilani
What Story Is Shaping Your Life?We all carry stories about who we are and how life works. Some help us move forward. Others may no longer fit. This guided reflection invites you to take a closer look at one of yours—and imagine what might happen if you rewrote it.