CHERYL HARAWITZ is a writer, painter, and lifetime activist who has spent her career fostering and advocating for children who face every kind of societal challenge. Cheryl is the author of When the Magpie Calls and Hugs All Around. She lives in Alameda, California with her husband Howard and their cat named Yuki. When the Magpie Calls is inspiring story about being different with a hint of magic and fantasy.
When the Magpie Calls charts the courage it takes to confront what can seem like overwhelming obstacles to inclusion. The social class barriers nine year old Morgwyth faces in the novel, come in part from Cheryl’s own experience. While a single mother of three with only a seventh grade education, she graduated at the top of her class with a MSW from Dalhousie University completing both undergraduate and graduate work in less than three years, while working full time.
Hugs All Around: How Nicolas McCullough Came Home is the story of a severely disabled child of three, headed for an institution. The Canadian National Film Board produced Nicolas, a documentary of the story. As a professional working with children who have special needs, a child protection mediator and foster parent of fifteen children, Cheryl has a profound understanding of the devastating effects that prejudice and fear can have on children. A strong advocate for children’s rights she has served on boards at local, national and international levels. As a social worker and president of her professional association, Cheryl earned several awards and presented her work at The United Nations World Congress of Health — How to Engage Families and Professionals to Create Community-Based Solutions for Children with Special Needs. Her professional approach to practice is rooted in compassion, deepened through her studies as a Buddhist under Pema Chodron.
Cheryl has a natural talent for gaining recognition for her work: in a dramatic career shift during the nineties, she started and ran one of the world’s earliest Internet companies. When her husband wrote software for the first web page editor on the market, she was able to secure international recognition, getting the software featured in several magazines and major publications including MacMillan. While CEO she won a number of awards including Entrepreneur of the Year. Cheryl is an exhibiting artist and co-founder of the California Bay Area non profit Artpush.
When the Magpie Calls is her first work of fiction.