Featured Interview With Gwen Suesse
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in a small town in upstate New York. Following that, I went to New York City and Boston for college and graduate school. I started teaching in Clinton, New York and went on to live in the greater Syracuse area after I married. Career-wise, I have worked as a choral director and music teacher, as well as in various human resources positions. I am a certified life coach with advanced training in grief support.
Currently, I am blessed to live in Tryon, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tryon has a remarkable presence of the arts, music, and cultural opportunities for a town of its size, attracting many artists, musicians, and writers to make their homes here.
I’ve had dogs most of my life but am currently pet-less following the demise of my beloved corgi, Daisy.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have loved books all my life. I read voraciously from the time I “cracked the code” and learned to read. I was lucky to be raised in a family that valued reading and education. There were always books in our home. Books on all subjects, from Audubon’s Birds of America to multiple encyclopedias, to novels and nonfiction titles, to the ever-present, huge, (or so it seemed to me as a child) Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary. My parents valued teaching their children to use exactly the right word. The dictionary sat in an alcove between the living and dining rooms, ever at the ready for reference!
Writing is so much a part of who I am that I cannot remember when I started. I wrote for school, of course, and won several essay contests. I wrote for my various jobs and volunteer positions. However, the writing I value most is the private writing in my journals, where I write to figure things out. When I put my thoughts on paper, the whirling clutter that is flying around in my overactive brain magically goes out of my mind and onto the page, where I can see those thoughts separately, grapple with them, and attempt to find structure, focus, or a glimmer of understanding and message for going forward.
These journals provided fodder for my two books. As Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book you want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” So I did! Twice!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many favorite authors. Some of them: (in no particular order) Anne Lamott. Michael Malone. John O’Donohue. David Whyte. Leo Tolstoy. Mark Twain. Barbara Kingsolver. Ann Patchett. Mary Oliver. Mark Nepo. Robert Frost. Brian Doyle. Abraham Verghese. David Brooks. Doris Kearns Goodwin. Elizabeth Strout. Bill Bryson. Ivan Doig. Amor Towles.
I read everything except science fiction and dystopian literature, because I think life is scary enough without delving into those genres. I lean toward literary novels, poetry, spirituality, and current affairs, as well as books from any genre which illuminate human behavior because I am fascinated about what makes people do what they do.
I have been especially inspired by writers like Anne Lamott and Mark Nepo.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Notes from Planet Widow: Finding My Way After Loss.
Planet Widow is a story of rebirth. With the sudden death of my beloved husband, I landed without warning on Planet Widow, an utterly barren landscape with nothing in sight – only total desolation with mind-bending disorientation and soul-piercing heartache as my sole companions. I had no vision of what life could look like in such a place.
My book describes the trail of insights that knit themselves together to restore my sense of wholeness as a newly single person. While I couldn’t eradicate grief, I could learn profound lessons from it. Finding the courage to be open to it as a fierce teacher, I slowly lived my way into a new realization of self that includes grief, transforming disorientation into grounding and a measure of peace within the altered context of living on my own.
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