Sheila Rinear has been writing cutting-edge thought-provoking theatre for several decades, now. Her plays have an open and honest drive, and an appeal to many who love to be lifted as they watch or read.LIFELINES is a provocative and healing story of surviving suicide, and the unusual places that the strength to do so comes from. MERRY GENTLEMEN, a modern-day inspiration from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," leads to the recovery of a family dealing with the loss of a loved one and the possibilities of healing. COUNTER INTELLIGENCE, inspired by the events of 9/11, posits that no person is very different at all from any other person, and that the reclamation process of personal and societal peace is possible and can now proceed. In A DAY WITHOUT PALESTINE we find a daughter discovering that the seemingly diverse ideologies of the different generations in her family have built walls obstructing her own family's peace, while also discovering that what she wants for the world is not so different from what her father wants. With DO I LOOK LIKE ANYONE? the lives of a daughter searching for her birth-mother (who despairs the loss of her child), opens the door to the wishing, remembering, hope, regret, and longing for connection to family that are in all of us.Possible solutions in courses of action abound in Sheila's plays. Her message of Hope is vital for us today.