By Les Ong on November 27, 2025
May you always have sunrises. This simple yet profound phrase has become more than just a tagline for Denver author Sheilah Jane. It’s a philosophy, a blessing, and the heart of her message to readers around the world.
Since October 15, 2025, Sheilah’s debut memoir, “Shadows and Sunrises: A True Story of Shame, Strength, and Rebirth Across Continents,” has been touching hearts and opening minds. Within its first 14 days on Amazon, the book earned recognition as a top new release, a testament to the power of her story and the universality of her message.
The genesis of “Shadows and Sunrises” came from a deeply personal place. When Sheilah’s father passed away in 2010, she returned to the Philippines to bury him. The experience brought a stark realization: there were so many conversations left unfinished, so many words left unsaid.
“The first sentences I wrote in the book were basically my conversation, my unfinished conversations with my late father,” Sheilah explains. What began as a way to process grief evolved into something much larger: an exploration of intergenerational trauma, healing, and personal growth set against the backdrop of martial law in the Philippines and the complex experience of diaspora.
The book tackles what Sheilah describes as “being in the in-between,” navigating the space between two cultures, two worlds, two versions of oneself. “Even though my story is very much personal, the message is universal,” she says. “It talks about finding light after dark.”
While the memoir chronicles Sheilah’s personal journey, it carries within it something precious: the nuggets of wisdom passed down from her mother. These weren’t grand speeches or formal life lessons. Instead, they were small phrases, moments of guidance that seemed cryptic in childhood but revealed their depth over time.
“She led by example, and she would give us nuggets of wisdom that when I was a younger child, it was a head scratcher,” Sheilah recalls. “I understood what she said, but not necessarily what she meant.”
As Sheilah raised her own three children, she found herself sharing these pearls of wisdom with friends and other parents. The response was always the same: “We need to meet your mother. She’s a very smart and wise woman.” But more telling was what Sheilah wasn’t hearing. These timeless lessons weren’t being passed down in other families.
“If you didn’t hear it from your mother, and you are my age, and I don’t hear it from other parents telling their children these little nuggets of wisdom, then somebody has to share these,” she explains. “So I figured, let’s put it all in a book.”
Sheilah is candid about the fact that her mother’s wisdom didn’t prevent her from making mistakes. Rather, it gave her something more valuable: the strength to overcome them. This honest reckoning with imperfection sits at the heart of “Shadows and Sunrises,” making it a story not of perfection, but of resilience and growth through life’s inevitable missteps.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Sheilah’s journey to becoming an author was anything but straightforward. She earned her degree in Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering and landed a coveted position with Texas Instruments right out of college. But her first job brought an awakening that would shape her worldview forever.
Despite being in the same training program as her male colleagues and performing at the same level, the men were hired as engineers while the women received technician titles. “That was my first realization that I was so idealistic,” she reflects. “Going into the real world is a big adjustment.”
This experience taught her to pay attention, to recognize inequity when she saw it, and to make a choice: face it head-on or move forward. It’s a resilience that would serve her well through life’s other challenges, including a frightening medical crisis with her second child that brought the family to Boston Children’s Hospital.
“As a mother, you basically walk with your heart in your hands most of the time,” Sheilah says of the experience. “You never rest. It’s a responsibility that once you take on, it’s not something that you say, okay, I’m done.”
Since moving permanently to the United States in 1998, Sheilah has lived in three states: five years in Rhode Island, 14 years in Texas where she raised her children, and since 2017, Denver, Colorado. But she’s never been one to focus on just a single venture. Like her mother before her, who was both a schoolteacher and an entrepreneur with side businesses to support the family, Sheilah naturally gravitates toward multiple projects.
“I never thought of it as work,” she says of juggling various enterprises. “It’s just something that I grew up seeing, so I don’t mind doing it. I actually get in trouble when I’m bored, so busy is better.”
Today, alongside her writing career, Sheilah and her life partner operate Sempre Avanti Imports, importing Italian wine and spirits. They also run a CBD business. The couple works as a two-person team, with Sheilah handling the legal aspects, back-office operations, and sales, while they strategically divide client-facing responsibilities based on client preferences.
With such a full plate, how does Sheilah find balance? The answer lies in her hobbies and her commitment to wellness. A certified yoga instructor since 2004, she’s been teaching for over 21 years. Whether she’s home in Denver or traveling for business (which she does frequently, including regular trips to Texas and destinations like Vail Valley), yoga remains a constant.
“I like being healthy,” she says simply. “So I have to at least put in a workout, or at least a yoga routine, even when I’m traveling.”
Her other passions include cooking (her favorite de-stressor), traveling whenever possible, and watching NFL football. Despite living in Denver, she remains a devoted New England Patriots fan, though she’s added the Denver Broncos to her roster of teams to cheer for. She’s even tried skydiving, an adventure she’d love to return to someday.
The success of “Shadows and Sunrises” speaks to the hunger readers have for authentic stories of struggle and triumph. The book’s primary audience spans women aged 35 to 55, though readers from 25 and up have connected with its themes. Strong reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, combined with word-of-mouth recommendations, have driven the book’s growth.
Available through multiple channels including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IngramSpark (which serves bookstores and libraries internationally), the book reaches a global audience. It’s available in print-on-demand format, making it accessible to readers worldwide, including the Filipino diaspora scattered across continents.
True to the values instilled by her parents, Sheilah actively supports her community. She volunteers with the Filipino American Community of Colorado (FACC), an organization she praises for being well-structured and organized. She regularly sells her book at community events, donating portions of proceeds to the organization.
“I’m willing to do that with any organization,” she says. Whether it’s books, wine, or CBD products, Sheilah believes in supporting community causes. “Whoever is willing to let me sell my products in whatever event they have, they can have some of the proceeds.”
She also holds Wine and Spirits Education Trust Level 2 certification for Wine and Spirit Trade, bringing expertise to her import business.
When asked about her vision for the next five years, Sheilah doesn’t hesitate: “I would like to see my business, especially my book, five years from now to have sold over a million copies.”
It’s an ambitious goal, but for someone who has navigated cultural transitions, professional challenges, personal loss, and the complex journey of entrepreneurship while raising a family, it seems entirely achievable. Her children are now grown, scattered between New York, the Bay Area in California, and Texas, giving her the freedom to work from anywhere while maintaining her Colorado base and warehouse.
The book’s message of resilience, the preservation of generational wisdom, and finding light after darkness resonates because it speaks to universal human experiences. Whether readers have experienced diaspora, family trauma, cultural displacement, or simply the challenge of growing through difficult times, there’s something in Sheilah’s story that feels familiar, that offers hope.
As Sheilah signs each book with her personal tagline, she’s offering more than well wishes. She’s sharing the essence of her journey: that no matter how dark the shadows, sunrise always comes. It’s a message her mother taught through example, a truth she discovered through her own trials, and a hope she now passes on to readers around the world.
In a time when generational wisdom risks being lost, when the pace of modern life can disconnect us from our roots, Sheilah’s work serves as a bridge. It connects past to present, East to West, trauma to healing, and darkness to light.
For those seeking their own path through difficult times, for anyone navigating the space between two worlds, or for readers simply looking for an authentic story of human resilience, “Shadows and Sunrises” offers both mirror and map.
Experience Sheilah Jane’s powerful memoir, “Shadows and Sunrises: A True Story of Shame, Strength, and Rebirth Across Continents.” Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through her website at sheilahjane.com.
Connect with Sheilah:
May you always have sunrises.
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