Meet Shea Bart Andreone | Writer, Fertility Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shea Bart Andreone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shea, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
The definition of work changes for me, depending on what I am doing. I love writing so it doesn’t feel like work, but editing my writing, formatting, and re-reading sometimes feels tedious. I have two children — when I became a mother, it was as if someone pressed the restart button on my life. On one hand, it has been the most rewarding, incredible role I have ever had, but on the other, it is also the hardest I have ever worked at something. You are never off-duty. I tend to be pretty disciplined and don’t always take a break when I should, but I am getting better about adding activities that restore me like taking walks and reading books. I am also getting a little better at asking for help. Just a little, I need to work on doing that more.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
With my writing, I strive to create relatable scenarios, conversations, and situations. Even if I am writing about a topic that not everyone has heard of or experienced, my goal is to entice readers to find elements and emotions they can connect to. I am mostly a non-fiction writer, but occasionally I will dip my quill into a new genre. Lately, a name change is about as fictional as I get. I get excited when I can retell someone’s story on the page and add color and depth in a way that makes it interesting to readers. I got to this point in my career by asking questions and listening for answers. Getting information, learning from it, and turning it into a story is how I craft my work. My book “Carry On” is a series of true stories about everyday people trying to do seemingly one of the most simple things there is: starting a family. I hope my book brings awareness to people, and helps those who are going through their own journey of trying to build their family feel less alone.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love LA because it has everything. When my friends come to visit, I take them to Baldwin Hills to hike the stairs. The beautiful views of the city, mountains, and the ocean never fail to make me grateful to live here. There are so many restaurants that I love in this city but I would take them to Factory Kitchen for their Mandilli di Seta, a paper-thin handkerchief pasta tossed in an almond pesto (this might be my favorite meal in all of California!). For brunch, we could go to Urth Cafe, which is the right balance of LA trendy and genuinely good food. For drinks, I would go for cocktails on a rooftop or somewhere with outdoor seating. West Hollywood’s Laurel Hardware just opened a new spot in Culver City, Laurel Grill — delicious cocktails. Just for fun, it would be imperative that we take a day to go to the beach. I could also do a museum crawl from Downtown LA’s Broad, to the Getty, with stops at LACMA and the Hammer in between. Depending on the time of year, there are so many events I can think of to go to from shows at the Hollywood Bowl to farmers markets, art fairs, and ball games. In short, the list of fun to be had in LA is a really long one.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My friends and family hold me afloat. I talk to them daily to ask for advice on all things, from which sherry makes a better soup to how to compose the right set of words for a pitch letter. I have a smart group of people surrounding me. My father is the wisest person I know and I talk to him daily. He is 97 and I want to get as much time with him and learn as much from him as I can. My sister is a good mix of advice giver and friend. My husband is one of my best friends, and we have a strong partnership that extends from being a couple to co-parenting, as well as consulting each other on work. I appreciate his input, and most of the time I take his advice. My kids deserve credit for my story since I learned so much from them on my journey to parenthood. From infertility to miscarriage, loss, illness, and pregnancy — I have been humbled. I am so grateful to have them both as my children and although being a mom is not easy, I am learning on the job. There is no emotion that I haven’t felt since becoming a mother, from joyful to hysterical, angry to ecstatic, sometimes all in one day.

Website: https://www.sheabartandreone.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carryonthebook/

Twitter: https://www.x.com/carryonthebook/

Image Credits
Orit Harpaz