SHERRY MATTHEWS, AUTHOR

WE WERE NOT ORPHANS: Stories from the Waco State Home, (University of Texas Press February 2011) is Sherry Matthews' first book. She is currently working on others, including a family memoir.

Sherry was born in Los Angeles during World War II and grew up on her great-uncle and aunt's farm in East Texas. She first became aware of the Waco State Home at age three, when, after a series of family tragedies, her three older brothers were taken there to live. Half a century later, she attended a reunion of the Waco State Home with her only surviving brother and decided to publish a book of alumni stories as a gift to the ex-students' association.

Sherry is the founder and owner of Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing, a public service marketing firm with offices in Texas, New York, and Washington, D.C. She launched her company in 1983 with a roster of real estate clients, and it was named "Hot Shop of the Southwest" its first year in business. It has been winning the nation's top awards ever since, competing against some of the world's leading ad agencies. Innovative but results-focused public service campaigns for nonprofits and government agencies are the hallmark of her agency's work.

Sherry divides her time between New York City and Austin, managing her agency, writing, and working on humanitarian and environmental issues.