We were lucky to catch up with Abby Sher recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abby, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I do all my own social media and I’m very conflicted about it. I am a writer, performer, and comedian, and I crave social interaction. I especially love being silly and singing songs or wearing mustaches, and in the past it has given me a lot of joy to see people react positively. At the same time, I know there is so much suffering in the world and don’t know if my silliness is a little tone-deaf. Reading and posting online can also drop me into a hole of fear, anxiety, or shame all too easily. So, social media is a true mystery to me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

When I was eight years old, my Aunt Simone gave me a blank journal and told me to fill it up with whatever was in my head. I said thanks and stuck it under my bed. The next year, she gave me another blank journal. And another. It took me a while to understand that she was inviting me to be as wild and creative as I could muster. Today, I feel so grateful to start each morning with a blank piece of paper and a ballpoint pen. I write, I perform, I make up songs and fill up journals.

Here are some “credits” for you:

I’ve written and performed at The Second City, The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, HBO, Nick Jr., and NPR. I’ve also written seven books: Miss You Love You Hate You Bye (which was optioned for television), All the Ways the World Can End, Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery, Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn’t Stop Praying, Kissing Snowflakes, Sanctuary, and Solis, which I was honored to co-write with the phenomenal activist, Paola Mendoza.

My essays have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Self, Jane, Elle, and one was adapted for the television series, Modern Love.

I’ve also been the voice for several cartoons, I teach improv and I ghostwrite books so other people can feel their stories come to life. My purpose in life and in art is to connect us all through our rawest truths.
One blank page at a time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was sure I was going to be an actress on SNL.
Lorne Michaels was not as sure.
When I was on stage every night in Chicago, I felt creative and courageous and ready to make everybody laugh. But I was also hiding some really deep struggles within myself. I had an eating disorder and was terrified of losing my mom. When I came to NYC, my mom passed, I was an orphan, and I had to learn a new way to express myself and find humor again. Writing became a huge tool in my healing process.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I took a class in personal essay writing when I was 30. I had no idea what a personal essay was at the time. In that class I met my first mentor and some of my closest writing friends, and it led to me getting two pieces published and connecting with a writing agent!

I think everyone you meet can be a friend and putting your thoughts and words out there is always a fabulous learning process.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abby-sher.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbysher/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbbyJSher/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-sher-292312124/

Image Credits

Lee Seidenberg