After 25 years of writing and editing (McFarland Publishing, The Chronicle, Wake Forest University alumni magazine, Guilford College magazine, Parabola, Reader’s Digest ), Sheridan Hill founded Real Life Stories.
A passionate biographer and memoir writer, Sheridan Hill works with clients internationally to create a biography that is beautifully written, impeccably researched, and professionally printed. As founder of Real Life Stories, she works with a small stable of publishing professionals hand-picked for their expertise, efficiency, and ability to deliver.
In the summer of 2017, the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) interviewed Sheridan Hill, and in their September, 2017 bulletin, AARP recommended Real Life Stories, LLC as one of the top personal biography companies in the nation.
While most of our books are published privately for Personal Biography clients, some of the books we have produced can be found on our Retail Books.
Meet Our Team or discover more about Sheridan and Real Life Stories below.
You have one life. It’s more amazing than you think. Let’s turn it into a book.~ Sheridan Hill
In April, 2016, Hill was interviewed for a New York Times story on her illustrious biography client, Seymour Lazar. With the permission and at the request of her clients, Sheridan Hill gave an hour-long telephone interview to a New York Times writer about the illustrious Seymour Lazar. Hill was contracted by the Lazar family to author Lazar’s biography, which will be published privately.
Sheridan Hill appeared on WKNO-TV in Memphis in the fall of 2015, discussing her work as a personal biographer. She often speaks to enthusiastic audiences across the U.S. about the joy of memoir, including at the Virginia Festival of the Book, the Association of Personal Historians, and many civic and private groups, including clients of investment and wealth advisors. On another theme, Hill also discusses the function of grief as a transformational tool in human development.
In addition to authoring several dozen personal biographies, Sheridan Hill co-authored the 100-year corporate history of Jefferson Pilot Corporation. She has written thousands of newspaper feature articles. Celebrities Sheridan Hill has interviewed and written about include director Ken Burns, author Edward Albee and actor Sydney Poitier. Previously, Sheridan worked in corporate and nonprofit public relations (B&C Associates, Wake Forest University Bowman Gray Medical Center, Tarheel Triad Girl Scout Council).
Living on the island of Kauai 2012-2013, Hill was initiated into Pacific Islander culture and was privileged to interview several Japanese veterans from World War II. For spiritual nurture, Hill attends the Swannanoa Valley Friends Meeting. Volunteer commitments Hill has honored include three years on the Town of Black Mountain Planning Board, three years as a death-and-dying volunteer for CarePartners Hospice, and donations of time for local nonprofits including the local women’s prison and the Welcome Table (free lunch and nutritious food give-away program).
Sheridan Hill attempts to discuss memoir writing and how the memoir process works in this video from 2010.
Going further back in time: In Winston-Salem in the late 1980s and early 1990s, you would find the name of Sheridan Hill as editor of the employee magazine for Wake Forest University Bowman Gray Medical Center (15,000 employees) and as public relations coordinator for the organ donor department of the hospital. In the early 1990s you would see Sheridan Hill’s name as editor of the African-American newspaper The Chronicle.
Hill also managed public relations for the Tarheel Triad Girl Scout Council,and worked in public relations for B&C Associates. Before launching into a professional career, she studied Special Education and Business Administration at Appalachian State University.
I am endlessly curious. I want to know everything you wish to tell me before I begin to tell your story.~ Sheridan Hill
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us today about biography and biographers! We are in Asheville, North Carolina with clients in San Francisco, California; Manhattan and Upper East Side, New York; Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada.
