Beacher Jaye Sherry’s Memoirs of a Lash Artist set for release this April

By NATASHA JACKSON

Jaye Sherry, a long-time Beach resident who has lived in the community for more than 23 years, will be celebrating the release of her book Memoirs of a Lash Artist next month.

The book follows her journey managing her business and the hardships she faced to get where she is now. 

It took Jaye seven months to complete her memoir because of a number of personal life challenges she recently faced.

She has had two open-heart surgeries for the condition Quadracuspid Aortic Valve, which is an extremely rare heart condition.  After facing a near-death experience from one of the surgeries, Jaye said it triggered a spiral of post-traumatic stress and mental health struggles that kept her isolated and prevented her from living life normally.

Memoirs of a Lash Artist is a raw and heavy testament to Jaye’s life, and all the pain and resilience it took her to move forward.  After her second heart surgery and almost dying, it became a turning point for her to start a path of healing both spiritually and emotionally. 

Born and raised in the east end, Jaye moved with her three-year-old daughter to Vancouver and lived there for seven years.

Upon returning to Toronto in 2011 and settling near Kingston Road, she took a lash course and also an entrepreneur course. After completing her courses Jaye set up her own aesthetics business, offering multiple services at a number of local salons where she was able to foster meaningful relationships with her clients.

A number of those clients were teenage girls, some of whom were dealing with troubled home lives, and Jaye became a lifeline for many of them.

“That job, that business—it became a way for me to give back. I wanted to help these girls, and I did. Whether it was just listening, giving them a hug, offering some advice, or sharing my own experiences. I recognize now—with these girls—I was, for them, the person I wish I had. The person I needed in my life,” wrote Jaye in Memoirs of a Lash Artist.

The cover of the book represents the two sides of Jaye’s life. A butterfly with one dark wing and one colourful wing to show that although people in the community perceived her as a happy and healthy person, there was a darkness that she was fighting on the inside that nobody knew about.

“Black wing and a colourful wing because I was dark, and I didn’t even know I was dark. I just kept schlepping through life,” said Jaye in an interview with Beach Metro Community News “I don’t have time to cry in a corner, just get up and keep going.”

Jaye is no longer a lash artist and has changed her career path to become a writer full-time.

She said she plans to make this memoir a five-book series where each book focuses on different parts of her first memoir.

For example, the next book will solely be focused on what it was like having two open-heart surgeries and surviving a near-death experience. The book, after that, will delve more into detail about how she overcame her mental health struggles.

“The first one is the memoir, and then there’s four after it,” said Jaye. “It’s an evolving, nonfiction memoir series. It’s called a pentology. Five pieces, five parts.” 

Jaye is also launching a podcast titled Truth Serum: Real women. Raw stories. She wants the podcast to be a space for stories and unfiltered conversations with women who have survived trauma and abuse, and to have an outlet to speak freely on.

Her only support system, she said, was the community at Captain Jack’s pub in the Beach. She mentioned the names of bartenders  Zoe, Jax, Ness and Jenn, who she said were there to listen to her story when nobody else did.

“I wouldn’t have made it without them. They’re servers, but they ended up being more than that to me,” said Jaye.

For those who don’t know Jaye and will read this memoir, she said she wants them to not just see her as a survivor but as an ally to the community.

But for those who do know her, she said the message is to never read a book by its cover.

“I want people to know that if they have anything that they need to talk about, that they feel scared to talk about or nobody wants to hear, call me up,” said Jaye. “I want them to know that they’re not alone.”

The book launches on Tuesday, April 21, with a pair of events.

The first celebration is a private, RSVP only, event at The Beech Tree restaurant at, 924 Kingston Rd. To RSVP, contact Jaye at her email, msjayesherry@gmail.com or email The Beech Tree at helderca@yahoo.ca

Later on April 21, starting at 8 p.m., there will be a launch celebration open to the public at Captain Jack’s, 2 Wheeler Ave. just north of Queen Street East, and everyone is welcome to attend.

For more on Jaye Sherry, please go to https://www.hearttoheartjaye.com/about-1