Sharayah Lane is a mom, an author, and a practitioner of gratitude. She received her undergraduate degree from the UW in Journalism and has always been in love with the art of storytelling. After working with several outlets as a journalist coupled with her own lived experience as a Black and Native American mother, Sharayah understands the importance of representation and diversity in her work. As member of the Lummi Nation in Washington State, her life spent growing up on the reservation has taught her many things about the beauty in diversity of the human race. Sharayah has travelled the world and connected with individuals from all walks of life and works to incorporate this worldview into all that she does. The ABCs of Grateful is her first book (hopefully first of many) and came from the idea of wanting to share the concept and practice of gratitude with children, to start as early as possible in life. The messaging she brings is one of understanding that we can all base our lives on gratitude, no matter what is going on. When we find things to be grateful for it can alter our perceptions. She welcomed the opportunity to focus on children’s literature because of the call it makes to the writer to truly get to the essence of a topic or a concept. If you can explain something to a child, then you’ve really got something worth sharing. Sharayah is available for readings, speaking engagements, and activities for children and adults that explore the concepts of gratitude, diversity, identity, and the overall joy we can find in this life when we look for it. When she is not lost in a book, writing for fun, spending time in nature or working on community building projects, she can be found at home spending time with her husband and their two boys.
