The Brief Wondrous Life of Andrew Sherman Ms. Sherman/English

Meet Mr. Sherman Chief of Staff (second in charge) of the Government Printing Office (GPO) in Washington, D.C. ◦ Works on the Hill, manages communication for the GPO and helps manage operations ◦ VERY big in politics: helped with presidential and local campaigns from college – present ◦ Helped get first African-American woman appointed as Chief Printer for the GPO

Meet Mr. Sherman Painter/lover of art ◦ Has an eye for beauty in even desolate places ◦ Shows his ability to see good in people before bad

Artwork

Artwork

Childhood Born and raised in Washington, D.C. to veteran/librarian at Library of Congress ◦ Mother: Cornell graduate but became stay-at- home-mom ◦ 2 sisters and 1 brother (oldest) ◦ 11 years old: got so sick they thought he had stomach cancer; “it’s a miracle I got better” Spent teenage years in Falls Church, VA ◦ George Mason High School

Meeting Deborah Lewis Met wife of 32 years in high school ◦ Andrew: senior; Deborah: freshman Deborah’s upbringing: not easy ◦ No father, alcoholic mother, moved around to different foster homes throughout childhood ◦ “Your dad saved my life more times than I can remember”

Family “I told myself I wasn’t going to be the kind of father my dad was” ◦ Had very difficult relationship with own father: “sometimes not the best husband or dad” ◦ *My memory: grandfather died when I was 3, only memory is watching him read on the beach  Was actually more important memory I would later realize had significant impact on me

Harvey Sherman

How has this impacted Andrew as a Father? Laughter is really important: “there’s a lot of great stuff out there” Hard work: “you need to learn how to do this on you own” Forgiveness: realizing when you are wrong and “figuring out a way to make it right” ◦ Something his family rarely did was apologize ◦ Makes a point to realize when he is wrong

How has this impacted me? Laughter, hard work, and forgiveness three very important things ◦ Can remember times when my dad and I would butt heads and he would always call first (even when I should have) Harvey’s impact ◦ Sometimes life has a different plan for you ◦ Sometimes what you need is not necessarily what you want ◦ The importance of life-long learning

Andrew Sherman today Dad’s insistence on me being independent and a life-long learner helped me become very strong personality Still close (but glad we don’t live under same roof )