Hi, I’m Sheradun Strand — the writer behind Steady Heart Studio.
For years, I’ve served as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer, walking alongside kids through some of the hardest chapters of their lives: homelessness, food insecurity, and foster care.
Those experiences are where these books come from. Our Car Has a Name grew out of a child I knew whose car was, for a while, also her home. The Snack Stash came from watching how quietly food insecurity can live inside a kid’s backpack. The Bubba series came from the fear and hope tangled up in a first night in a new foster placement.
I didn’t want to write books that talk about these kids. I wanted to write books that talk to them — and to the parents, foster families, teachers, and caseworkers trying to help them feel steady again. That’s the whole idea behind the Steady Heart Series: stories for growing hearts, and tools for steadier days.
When I’m not writing, I’m still doing CASA work — which means these books stay grounded in what kids are actually going through right now, not just what happened years ago.
If you work with kids facing hard situations — as a caseworker, teacher, therapist, or foster parent — I’d love to hear from you.