In Her Words: Sheryl Kraft, Writing Her Next Chapter
She earned her MFA at age 50. Twenty years later, she is still going strong as an independent publisher and an accomplished freelance writer specializing in health topics.
In 1988 when my children were just 18 months and two-and-a-half years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That changed my plans. I didn’t really know what was going to happen to me. So, rather than go back to work and risk missing out on their childhoods, I decided to stay home with my sons and I am very grateful that I was able to do that.
When I was in my late 40s and my kids were in high school and getting ready to go to college, one after the next, I kind of looked at myself and said “Okay, now what?” I wanted something substantial to do. I had always been involved in writing, not professionally, but for school newspapers and things like that. I had always loved to write and I had always loved learning. In 1976, I received my undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Rhode Island. When I was an undergraduate, I didn't really know who I was or what I wanted. But at this point I had the advantage of knowing. I decided to go back to college for writing.
You can lose your relevancy in younger people's eyes as you’re aging, so it's kind of nice to be able to stay in the game and set an example for my kids.
I enrolled in a three year MFA (master of fine arts) program at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York, and I really didn't realize what I was getting myself into when I arrived on campus. I guess it was better that I didn't know. Sarah Lawrence was a very liberal school with a lot of very artsy students. Here I was — a woman from the Connecticut suburbs with two children in college — and I'm among these college students who didn't look like college students did when I was going to college all those years ago. I was a bit challenged in that regard but I was very determined to stick it out and finish what I started. I commuted 45 minutes each way to campus, three times a week as a full time student. I loved the learning and the challenge, and I really embraced being a college student, this time on my terms. I was there because I wanted to be, not because I thought I had to be.
My husband, Alan, and my children were really supportive when I went back to college. They were so happy and proud of me. It was wonderful. And, you know, I felt good too. I felt I was setting a good example for my boys. I wanted them to see me as more than just their mother. Even all these years later, I feel it's important. You can lose your relevancy in younger people's eyes as you’re aging, so it's kind of nice to be able to stay in the game and set an example for my kids.
I graduated in 2005 at age 50. Soon after, I had an essay published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The essay was called “The Fourth Floor” and it was about visiting my best friend from childhood in the hospital. In 1993, five years after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was diagnosed but ultimately did not have a good outcome. She was treated with a bone marrow transplant, which was the gold standard for a short while. The best essays come from reflecting back on an event that you’ve been able to process for many years and you’re finally able to make sense of it. I wrote it many years later, while I was in graduate school, but it was still very emotional and very difficult.
Rather than an overnight success, as I got better at doing what I was doing, and got more experienced, I was able to carve out a career for myself.
Personal journalism and memoir is what I focused on at Sarah Lawrence and getting that essay published in JAMA was a thrill, but most people can’t really make a living writing personal essays unless they’re very prolific. I still write personal essays, but I focus more on consumer with a focus on health articles, which became an interest of mine because of my breast cancer journey. That’s where I found the most passion for learning and writing.
I realized early on after graduate school that there were very practical lessons I still needed to learn about writing, such as what the business was actually like, beyond writing from a very literary and academic viewpoint. So I took additional classes at CUNY (City Colleges of New York) and other professional schools and began networking and making valuable contacts.
My career as an independent freelance writer really came together organically. One thing led to another. Rather than an overnight success, as I got better at doing what I was doing, and got more experienced, I was able to carve out a career for myself. Being a freelance writer can be challenging, but it is so rewarding, too. It's nice at this point in my career that many people know me. I love to be given a topic that I don’t know anything about, because it gives me an opportunity to continue learning by researching and interviewing experts.
In the beginning of my writing career, I had a variety of clients, including one steady client for about 12 years. More than 20 years later, I have had hundreds of articles published. I've been published in many women's magazines, like AARP, Prevention, Family Circle, Women's Day, and Weight Watchers which was my dream. Additionally, my work appears on hundreds of websites. The business has changed so much in the last few years. I was writing for many magazine editors but so many magazines closed. Now I'm competing against magazine editors because they've been laid off, so they're in the freelance writing pool. I also think the change in business has a lot to do with AI.
In 2020 I launched “The Pause” newsletter on Substack with a partner. Twenty years ago when I was going through menopause, I wanted to write about it. When I suggested it to my editor she said, “Nobody wants to read about menopause. It's not sexy!” Then celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow Oprah started talking about menopause, and models started talking about it, and all of a sudden it was sexy! My partner had to get a real paying job, which means I’m now writing “The Pause” solo. I'm not promoting it as much as I could be, but I have close to 1,000 subscribers, which is nice to see. I started with five. So I'm happy about that, and it gives me the freedom to express myself and share valuable information with my engaged audience.
Belle Curve Stories is about women navigating life with grit, grace, and growth. What do those three words mean to you?
Grit reminds me of digging in your heels and having determination and being brave to go out and get what you want. I had grit when I had to face my diagnosis. I had to really dig down deep and gather my strength. Also returning to school and having those moments of self-doubt, where you think, “I can't do this. I want to quit,” but then saying, “No, no, no. I'm going to keep going. I’m going to keep my eye on the prize and keep going” takes grit.
Grace means the ability to get through life's ups and downs and keep your composure and not let it rattle you. That's how I've learned to live. I try to live as best I can. It’s not always easy; we don’t get to write the script but we do get to make decisions and try to steer the course in the direction we want.
Growth is something you should never stop doing. I think there's unlimited potential for growth, no matter how old you get. Some people don't look for it, and some people don't take advantage of it, but I think it is everywhere. You just have to be open to it, and there's always room to grow. None of us will ever know everything.
If you could go back and give advice to your 25-year-old self, what would you tell her?
I would say, “Stop worrying so much and just jump into life without so much thinking. You have to get out of your own way.” You know more than you think you do at that point, don't you? You're capable of more than you think you are. But you know, it would be nice to be in a 25-year-old body with a 45-year-old mind. Then you would really be able to conquer the world.
As told to and edited by Teresa Bellock and Sandra Ditore.
Sheryl Kraft, age 69, is well into her third act as an established freelance writer, specializing in health and wellness topics. Her newsletter “The Pause” can be found here on Substack.
Sheryl, thank you so much for sharing your story and journey!