The Beautiful No ― And Other Tales of Trial, Transcendence, and Transformation

The former executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show and co-host of the popular podcast series This is Fifty with Sheri + Nancy shares candid insights and transformational wisdom from her storybook career and her dramatic middle of life reinvention.

“Thursday morning.
One hundred pounds overweight, no man in sight.
And rounding the bend to 57 years old—a full blown catastrophe.”

What happens when you’ve dedicated decades to your dream job but left all your other dreams gathering dust on the shelf?

This was the question facing Sheri Salata. For over twenty years, Sheri worked first on The Oprah Winfrey Show and then on the OWN cable network turnaround. It was a storybook career that came with enormous rewards—and ultimately huge self-inflicted costs, leaving her emotionally and physically depleted.

After years of telling other people’s stories and inspiring them to turn their lives around, Sheri decided it was time to “produce” her own life transformation. With her 50th birthday in the rearview mirror, she embarked on a journey of radical self-care.

In The Beautiful No . . . and other Tales of Trial, Transcendence, and Transformation, Sheri takes a tender and unflinching look at her career, her love life, her spirituality, her body, her entire life journey, inviting readers to join her as she creates a personal recipe for living the life of her dreams. Armed with everything she’s learned from working with some of the most prolific wisdom keepers of our time, she shares how she began to rebuild the pillars of her life.

Packed with practical gems and laugh-out-loud moments, Sheri’s story is a blueprint of personal renewal and everyday magic. Building on the inspiring insights of bestsellers such as Eat, Pray, Love, Wild, and A Year of Yes, The Beautiful No makes clear it’s never too late to live the life or your dreams.