Jaquie Sherrard’s A Double Portion: Empowering Women Through Tragedy and Triumph

Just as each small grain of sand covers the shores of a beautiful warm beach, so are the lives of each divine being on earth. Each life takes many different footsteps and often must take very difficult steps through life.

Jaquie Sherrard has written a book that chronicles the severe tragedies in her life and documents how she is turning the grit to glory. After the death of her father and other unfortunate circumstances, Jaquie was placed in foster care.

According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) the United States had 437,465 children placed in foster care in 2016. For many children that report is a sign of hope, but for Jaquie, it was a sentence to a place where she would have to escape.

“I don’t know how all foster homes are and maybe this is not the case for all, but this particular foster home was absolutely horrible,” Jaquie said. In her book, she refers to her life as a foster child as the encounters of the worst kind. The room where she lived had cracks in the walls and ceiling. There was no heat or air conditioning; she was given a small pan to use the restroom in. “I was only allowed to come out to get my plate at the bottom of the stairs and take it back upstairs and eat,” she commented.

Reported in an ABC Primetime news story, almost 60,000 foster care children are abused or neglected in the United States each week. Jaquie’s book, A Double Portion, shows a courageous journey to help and healing. She offers women hope and recovery after enduring abusive circumstances.

Whittney Hood, with the Dress for Success Oklahoma City Organization, also offers support for women in finding a life of fulfillment. The organization offers resources and training for women in need. “Our goal here is to be much more than clothing, so where as we start with clothing for an interview or for a job, we help ladies with much more than that,” Hood said. The organizations mission includes empowering women to be independent in work and in life. Dress for Success is only one of thousands of women’s help organizations in the state of Oklahoma.