Biography
Shirley Rilett is originally from Lima, Peru. As a little girl, Shirley loved animals so much that she would often find strays on the streets and bring them back home. Afterwards Shirley and her mom would clean, feed and often find new homes for the strays.
Shirley came to the United States when she was 17 years old and settled with her mom and sister in the city of Stamford, Connecticut.
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In 2002 Shirley graduated from Stamford High School and continued her college education for a couple of years.
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In 2004, Shirley left to join the ranks of the U.S. Army where she proudly served until being honorably discharged in 2007. While enlisted, Shirley received several awards for her service.
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Shirley came back to Stamford where she completed her Bachelor's Degree in General Science with a concentration in Psychology, Human Development and Social Studies from the University of Connecticut.
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In 2012, Shirley fulfilled her life-long dream to become a Police Officer for the Town of Greenwich, CT.
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In 2018, Shirley fulfilled yet another dream when she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Not long after coming home from the hospital, her Boston Terrier of 13 years (Moo) passed away.
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Unfortunately, an accident ended her career; in 2019 she was medically retired from the Police force.
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Even with Shirley's background, she was facing one of the biggest challenges in her life as she was losing her career, facing postpartum depression, and navigating the stressors of becoming a new mom. Through the support of her family and the antics of her 120lb Rottweiler: Oso, she was able to realize the inspiration to start a new chapter in her life. You can read more about Shirley in the article written about her on Parents Magazine.
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Shirley has been featured on News 12 CT, Stamford Moms, Love What Matters, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Free Press.
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When Shirley is not writing she is caring for her infant son, volunteering at the local high school speaking to children about their potential to succeed. She often shares the story that she wrote about bullying in her blog called "The Ugly Duckling".
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