Cocoon: How One Woman Created A Shelter for Teens and Found Hope Along The Way

by Sarri Gilman

Sarri Gilman noticed a problem. Many of the teenage students attending the Everett, Washington, school where she worked had nowhere to go at night. She then realized they were victims of a devastating loophole in the state's system, which provided housing for younger children and adults who were homeless, but had no space for teens.
What happened next was not in Sarri's career plan, but the marriage and family therapist could not turn her back on the problem unfolding around her. Instead, she became the executive director of a nonprofit organization, Cocoon House, which served - and continues to serve - as a home for the most vulnerable teens in her community, giving them the chance to find stability and a new lease on life.
Cocoon is her unbelievable, inspiring and true story.

270 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 2023

About the author

Sarri Gilman, LMFT, has worked in private practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist since 1986. For over 20 years, she has also served in staff, leadership and advisory roles to health and human services and educational organizations. She has had the opportunity to work deeply with many people. She cares deeply about those who work in the helping professions and offers workshops and coaching for everyone from frontline case workers to executive level leaders throughout the United States. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is also the author/founder of the Transform Your Boundaries(R) series.

from https://books.google.com/books/about/...

Reviews

[Ocean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the beautiful story of how the author Sarri Gilman started from scratch and opened a nonprofit shelter for the homeless teens in her community. The ressource this woman has, her strength, her humanity, patience and kindness are truly remarkable. She is part of those that truly and positively impact everyone around them. To have come from such humble beginnings and to push yourself to do good for others who also have had very tough childhood is beautiful.
I'm not gonna lie, the writing isn't exceptional but it absolutely is readable and accessible. I hope it will inspire other people to at least try and do a little more and to be understanding of those who have nothing. Cocoon what a perfect name for a shelter and title for this heartfelt book!

[Betty Azar · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Cocoon” is a triumphant book, a memoir that shows triumph of the human spirit when an “ordinary woman,” someone like you and me, throws her heart into fulfilling a need she sees in her community, and a triumph for a whole community of good people who back the author in her vision of a refuge for homeless teens in the small city where she worked.
The book is a page turner. Honest! It almost reads like “The Perils of Pauline” as the author stumbles upon one obstacle after another: initially encountering reluctant, untrusting teens; finding a suitable house for a shelter; figuring out how to sustain an older house with old-house issues; finding ways to help the many traumatized kids who walk through her door; learning what’s needed to care for infants of homeless fourteen-year-olds; constantly having to raise money for food and for staff salaries. She goes from one adventure to another, almost breathlessly, as in there is no time to breathe between the barrage of challenges.
The author skillfully takes the reader on her journey, including many moments of, “Oh no, what is she going to do now? How is she going to get out of this one? Can she get the homeless teen to stay? Will the teen who ran away come back?” The reader gets attached to the teens the author cares so deeply about.
This is a remarkable story, exceptionally well told. I referred to the author Sarri Gilman as “an ordinary woman,” but her grit, civic and interpersonal navigation skills, and determination to get where she’s going make her an extraordinary woman—and tells us that any of us can be that, too, if we jump in with both feet to make a difference in our own communities. She tapped the goodness that lies in all our communities, goodness that emerges when an unheralded leader with a vision puts her head down and goes for it.
The book also leads us toward recognizing what to do when our emotional resources dry up. After ten intense and hugely successful years, the author, a psychotherapist, leads us through her own encounter with burn out and her need to moved forward. We can all learn from her.
A priceless memoir.
Betty Azar

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarri Gilman achieved the near impossible: creating, in an era of Satanic Panic and general mistrust of the homeless, a shelter for the over-looked, vulnerable demographic forgotten by the government. From her grassroot beginnings, writing grant-applications on napkins and presenting a dream, to creating a thriving, self-sustaining non-profit with multiple sites, Gilman's compassion and love are apparent.

This is a lyrical blue-print for creating a people-focused organisation that does not flinch away from the threats and difficulties of working around government mandates, dodging dangerous, hate-filled individuals and natural disasters, and providing teenagers not only with basic necessities such as food and shelter, but building a family and giving people the tools to learn and become independent members of the community. The employees, volunteers, and residents of Cocoon House all leap off the page with Gilman's gentle reminiscence and will stay with me for a long time.

I will say that some of Gilman's turns of phrase (such as constantly referring to herself as 'mommy' and the simplistic, almost child-like narrative tone), and her constant comparisons to the 'stay at home mommies' who were making tomato sauce from scratch, was a bit grating to me, especially as discussions of her husband's role in their children's lives was near non-existent. Overall though, a very enriching and poignant read!

[Heather Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, as the book cover promises, an “unbelievable, inspiring, and true story.” But it is so much more than that. Sarri Gilman is a talented writer, skillfully relating a complex public story while weaving in her own internal experiences of some of her highest and lowest points, allowing a window as much into the horrors of teen homelessness as into her own growth and healing. Memoirs relating stories of trauma walk a fine line between seeking to honestly express certain difficult truths and asking the readers to bear their burdens. Gilman’s honesty, vulnerability, and humanity invited me in without weighing me down, helped me feel invested and enlightened without feeling traumatized myself. As intense as her story is, this is ultimately a memoir of hope and healing. We need more books like this.

[Erin Sundberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page. So fascinating to learn the origin story of this vital refuge in our community. I loved how she was honest about the mistakes she made along the way, encourages any of us to take action even when we don’t feel fully prepared.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. Hopeful. People can make a difference.

[Heather Jaynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be a little biased, but this was a story I waited a long time to read. So inspirational to hear how it all came together.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was giving my BF the sparknotes version of this book & he told me I should start my own nonprofit like the year isn’t 2025 and the government doesn’t hate the disenfranchised and those who aid them more than ever. Sweet that he thinks I am so capable and creative though!

This book was great though. 10/10 would recommend!

Update: found out that my supervisor and a colleague both worked for Cocoon House, which is cool as fuck!