Mama Drama

A Journey with Bipolar and Dementia—
Finding Light Through Loss and Grief

Mama Drama is a deeply personal story, raw and heartfelt, by Sheri Smith, offering an unfiltered look into her life, relationships, and struggles with family dynamics, loss, grief, and self-discovery. The story weaves through pivotal moments in Smith’s life, starting when she starred on Broadway at seven years old and appeared in the longest-running national M&M commercial (“Melts in Your Mouth”).

She depicts her years running a successful catering business, and her time living on the Big Island of Hawaii, where she built and managed a castle-themed vacation rental, to losing everything in 2014 and having to start over at sixty. From the profound loss and continuing grief of her “heart dog” Ray, to the heartbreaking estrangement from her mother during her Mom’s final years as she succumbed to dementia due to family deceit. Smith’s experiences reveal the strength needed to survive life’s harshest challenges.

At its core, Mama Drama is about the complexities of family and personal growth, the ability to adapt, forgive, and find insight through meditation, Kabbalah, and other tools. The book addresses the importance of community, long-term friendships, and the spiritual journey of understanding grief as love left unspoken. Smith’s candid, often humorous voice makes this book a relatable exploration of navigating life’s trials with resilience, compassion, and a healthy dose of self-deprecation.