The Power of Storytelling: Open & Honest Conversations about Death and Grief with Author and CEO Sherrie Barch

<p>Sherrie Barch is the CEO of two Forbes’ ranked top executive search firms and a leadership consulting company. An expert in the areas of leadership, team development, and diversity, her forward-thinking approach to work was recognized when she was chosen to participate in the ‘altMBA” program designed and led by leadership guru Seth Godin.</p> <p>Born and raised in Northern Illinois, Sherrie earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in Communication from Western Illinois University. Sherrie is married with three sons. As a mom, she describes herself as a part-time pancreas for her two youngest sons who were both diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes within the same year. Playing this role for the last 11 years, she is relentless about creating open and honest communication with her family about this chronic and life-threatening condition.</p> <p>Sherrie’s passion for storytelling and making room for serious and “heavy” conversations was a strong motivation for her to write her first children’s book <a href="https://www.heavensbell.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heaven’s Bell</a> based on a story of the same name she penned several years prior. The story focuses on 11-year-old best friends Cody and Ashley, and what happens when their once-in-a-lifetime friendship is threatened by personal tragedy. One of her goals for Heaven’s Bell is to create and inspire a safe space for families to have a conversation about death and dying in a natural and productive way.</p> <p>Sherrie is currently working on her second book, a business leadership fable designed to help new college graduates navigate the “real life stuff they don’t teach you in school” about career conversations, conflicts, and challenges. </p> <p>In this episode, we discuss:</p> <ul> <li>How she navigated her sons' type 1 diabetes diagnosis and how that affected her family's lifestyle.</li> <li>What she has learned about grief & death since writing her book.</li> <li>The importance of having difficult and heavy conversations with our children. </li> <li>How she used sto