Meet Sharon Riche | Author and Retail Banking Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sharon Riche and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharon, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?

I was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Los Angeles a few weeks after I was born. I guess you can say I was a very independent baby.

Shortly after my birth I developed a vascular birthmark called a hemangioma which is a blood vessel tumor above my right eye. It grew so large it covered my entire eye leading to permanent blindness.

Although I was bullied in school I was a bright student and I always felt loved and protected in our home. Being extremely shy I surprisingly had many friends and enjoyed a fun social life.

When I was seven years old we moved to the San Fernando Valley living in Tarzana and then Studio City. I am a true Valley Girl.   I even had my own Valley girl lingo with a New York accent. I was the only daughter between two brothers. My home was always filled with love, laughter and music. We played with the neighborhood kids in the hills of Laurelwood. In those days we rode bikes and skateboards with no helmets and played until the street lights came on.  I am still friends with the same neighborhood  girls today. My home life was very traditional. My dad was a businessman who owned Grand Central Supermarket downtown and later several carwashes. My mom was home with us and always actively involved as President or a board member on various organizations. My dad was a hidden child of the Holocaust. He never talked about his experiences. It was my grandmother who told me all the stories of the war. I learned from a young age that it was a miracle my dad survived and our lives were a gift never to be taken for granted. My parents instilled in me a strong work ethic and values that shaped who I am such as loyalty, honesty, commitment, integrity, humility, and that family is everything They were actively involved in various philanthropies and taught me to always give back to our community. We lived with a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for life. I was also raised to always be forgiving, never hold grudges,  and lead with love. We lived a very comfortable life. But, we were not ostentatious. If I wanted something special it was not just given to me. I had to work hard for it and earn my own money. At 13 years old my dad put me to work as a book keeper for our family business, later at 16 I was a cashier at our car washes. Nothing made me more proud and excited than when I got my first real job on my own working at Bullock’s at Sherman Oaks Fashion Square in the Young Attitude Department. From a very young age my passion was always writing whether it was poetry, songwriting, or storytelling. I became our family historian determined to keep our family legacy strong for future generations. The summer before I was about to leave home to attend UC Santa Barbara my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I transferred to UCLA to be closer to her.

My dad worked hard for his wealth but all the money in the world could not save my mom from breast cancer. My mom died at the age of 49 two weeks before my wedding. I was 24 and learned the hard lesson that no matter how good a person is they still die. I also realized how important it is to spend as much time with our loved ones, and express our appreciation to them since tomorrow is not promised. My dad died less than 16 years later on the eve of my 40th birthday. Although my parents’ lives were cut short I am grateful I had such loving parents for the time they were here.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

After I graduated UCLA I did public relations and event planning for the HELP Group. Later I worked as a junior publicist at ABC Television until the day my first child was born. I was a stay at home for 20 years  taking care of my three children. I went back to work at a market research company with a few writing gigs on the side. It wasn’t until I unexpectedly became a single mom putting my kids through college that I had to find a more stable career.

My primary career is in retail banking which is how I support myself financially.

But it is writing that feeds my soul and gives my work meaning.
I wrote a trilogy of books. Just One More Day ,is  a story of hope, fear and love for a bride to be during the final days of her mother’s life. It is really a love story between a mother and daughter. I never gave up hope that my mom would beat her cancer and that she would live to see my wedding. My mom knew she was dying but to protect me  never let me know. I was terrified of losing her but to protect her I only showed her my strength so she wouldn’t lose hope. I wrote our story after my honeymoon so I could remember our last moments together. I was 24 years old when I wrote it. I wrote it gor my own healing and not for an audience.  I never meant to publish it since it felt too private  Then 27 years later, my boyfriend found my story, read it and encouraged me to publish it. I self published through kindle direct publishing which gave me inspiration to write another book. My second book Tear Stained Pages is about my father’s story of being a hidden child of the Holocaust. My most exciting and proud moment was when my book found its home in the permanent collection in the Yad Vashem library. My most challenging story to share was my third book Through the Eye of Love. For the first time I exposed my deepest secrets of being called ugly eye by my bullies. I felt vulnerable sharing how different I felt growing up with a hemangioma and my blindness in one eye. The ongoing theme in all my books is no matter how much darkness we face in our life there is always light when there is love and to always live in gratitude. My next goal for my fourth book is to write a children’s book with my daughter about bullying and self esteem.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the Landing in Westlake Village. Something so relaxing about eating delicious sushi while enjoying the stunning lake views. We would then have wine at Stonehause which has a beautiful Tuscany vibe. Then we would venture over to Malibu and hike Point Dume and capture the gorgeous sunset on the beach.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My boyfriend and my three children are my biggest cheerleaders. Their love, support and encouragement gave me the push I needed to make my dream of publishing my books a reality. I owe my success and where I am in life to them. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful for the blessings they are to me.

Website: https://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Riche/e/B078VG5ZT5