Sheryl Bullock – The Journey of the Doll Cradle

Her Foster Grandchildren Inspired a Book for Other Foster Children

In 2011, Sheryl Bullock and her husband Rich moved to Redding, CA for exciting new roles as grandparents. The couple’s son and daughter-in-law had become foster parents to a preschool-age brother and sister and were planning to adopt the siblings. But 14 months into their new family dynamics, the court returned the children to their birth father.

“They were our first grandkids, and it was tough to lose them,” Sheryl recalls. As she grieved the loss, Sheryl also began to understand the trauma that a lifestyle of constant transition imposes upon foster children.

Between their son in Redding and daughter in San Diego, Sheryl and Rich now have five grandchildren under the age of eight. Nurturing her grandchildren over the years also nurtured an idea that was planted with the loss of her foster grandchildren.

“I had a doll cradle my father made for me that got lost sometime in my adulthood,” she explains, “I thought I could take what children with many life transitions often go through and write a story about a doll cradle being passed around to different circumstances and having different experiences.” In December 2019, the product of many years of pondering and many months of active work came into print — a book titled The Journey of the Doll Cradle.

A heart for foster children

Hannah Prewett, who met Sheryl through a writer’s group, illustrated The Journey of the Doll Cradle, working with Sheryl’s vision to “show you can grow through the difficulties of life. Sheryl has such a heart for using this book to encourage foster children and others who have gone through changes in their lives that they don’t understand,” she says. The project was a first-time experience for both author and illustrator.

The timing of the book’s release could not have been more appropriate to offer such a message, especially for kids in the North State, who have endured the trauma of horrific wildfires as well as the global chaos of COVID-19.

In writing the book, Sheryl talked with many foster parents. “I learned that every foster child, adoptee, and adoptive family has a different experience. Some children adapt quickly and bond deeply with their adoptive family. Other children have a deep loss that they don’t know their biological parents or that their memories have been left without closure,” Sheryl says.

The ripple effect

Hannah describes Sheryl and Rich as “very involved, especially in their local church, with younger couples and families. They are very encouraging and giving people, interested in investing in the lives around them.” As a life coach, Sheryl has indeed invested deeply in others. “I really believe in the ripple effect,” she says. “You can really make a difference in someone’s life. As I get older, I realize how important that is and that my time to do that is slowly dwindling. I can’t think of anything better to do with my life than encourage someone else.”

Encouraging older generations

Sheryl has undertaken another creative project: a YouTube channel, slated to launch in early 2021, designed to encourage older generations to uplift younger generations. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed we sometimes get to a certain age and go on autopilot. I think we feel like culture is changing so much that there’s nothing we can do or say that would make an impact, and the tendency is to complain about it,” she explains.

To counter this mindset, Sheryl plans to feature interviews of educators, clergy, counselors, and other individuals of all ages to help those on autopilot see “the experiences and resources they’ve had that could help them encourage the younger generations rather than criticize them.”

“You have a lot to offer the world”

Not unlike the doll cradle character of her book, Sheryl has used her experiences to find new purpose, resilience, and courage. Acting out what she believes “about God’s power and design for people,” Sheryl seeks to build up families and children in the North State and beyond. “It takes very little to show children they are valued,” she says, “A smile, a hand on the shoulder, getting to their eye level, or speaking encouraging words over them – those kinds of things can be really life-changing for adults as well as children. I would like to encourage people to continue to do that.”

The Journey of the Doll Cradle shares Sheryl’s powerful message with kids (and adults) facing transition: “You can learn to be content in a situation that is not ideal, and you still have a lot to offer the world.”

The mission of our Be The Change column is to feature community members from the North State who are actively making a difference in community life as it relates to youth. If you would like to nominate someone who is making a difference, please write to pn@northstateparent.com.