Writing and Publications
Throughout Sheila Michaels' life, one thing was constant: her writing. She was a prolific writer and editor. She began writing plays in high school and college, then moved on to editing for publishers like Colliers and applied her skills to the many causes she believed in. Sheila wrote fondly of life in New York City and published many pieces in The New York Times neighborhood pages. She wrote extensively about her time working in the civil rights movement. In addition to writing speeches and brochures, she drafted semi-autobiographical novels about that time. She traveled widely throughout Asia in the 1970s and wrote for various publications, including The Times of India.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Sheila was a New York City taxi driver for ten years to fund her travel. She wrote in detail about those adventures in both irreverent and moving ways. She was curious about people and their stories and loved to share her insights with others. In 1979, she published an article about her taxicab stories in New York Times Sunday News magazine.