Reading time: About 2 minutes
Sherry Hobbs says that writing a book is not the end of the process. Instead, it’s only the beginning…
The daughter of an Air Force Colonel, Sherry Hobbs spent her childhood traveling around the world, including living in Saigon, Vietnam, when her father was the Air Attache, and in Paris when he was with NATO. She began her career in social work and later took on the business world. In college, Sherry met her husband, Mike, and they had almost six decades together, until he developed a rare dementia and died in 2025. She now lives in Henderson, Nevada, with her dog Bijou and is closely connected with her grandsons and great-grandson in California.
She is the author of three books: Bird of Passage, Mac: The Wind Beneath My Wings. and Descent into Dementialand.
I was excited to talk to Sherry about how she approaches writing.
Q. Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?
Currently, I am taking a break from writing. My last book, Descent into Dementialand: A True Life Love Story, was in all senses a labor of love. As Mike neared the end of his life, he was unable to understand what I was doing, spending so many hours at the computer, and he wanted my full attention. He died on Aug. 14, 2025. I wrote the three books over the past seven years; each took about two years to complete. I spent at least four hours a day writing each one.
Q. What’s a simple activity or habit that makes you a better writer?
Reading makes me a better writer.
Q. What interferes with your writing?
Life interferes with writing. For the last eight years, my husband was my priority. Next, my health and sanity, which included daily exercise, and third, my writing.
Q. How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?
Writing non-fiction is different from writing fiction. I never struggled with characters or plot. I can’t remember days when I didn’t feel like writing.
Q. Is there a particular motto or saying that you’ve found helpful for writing?
The old saw, “write what you know,” is apt for my work, which involves life stories of people I know intimately.
Q. Which stage of the writing process do you enjoy the most: researching, writing or editing/rewriting and why?
I enjoy researching and learning. With Mac: The Wind Beneath My Wings, I was fascinated to discover arcane facts and stories about the Second World War and my father’s role, and bring them to light. With Descent into Dementialand, I thoroughly enjoyed researching and learning about the brain. As dementia progressed and Mike’s behavior changed or he lost the ability to perform an activity, I wanted to understand why. Then I loved translating what I learned into easily understandable language for the layperson.
Q. What’s one of the best books you’ve read (either fiction or non) in the last five years?
The last marvelous book I read was By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. I also enjoyed The Women by Kristin Hanna, and The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak,
Q. What book are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading Strangers in Time, by David Baldacci
Q. What do you think is the biggest misperception that new writers have about the act of writing?
I think that the biggest misperception new writers have is that writing a book is the end of the process, and it’s only the beginning.
