Anderson, Susan 1946–

∗ Indicates that a listing has been compiled from secondary sources believed to be reliable, but has not been personally verified for this edition by the author sketched.

PERSONAL: Born July 2, 1946, in Pensacola, FL; daughter of Dexter (an owner of an advertising brokerage) and Barbara (a homemaker and volunteer teacher) Griffith; children: Adam, Erika. Education: Adelphi University, B.F.A., 1968; State University of New York at Stony Brook, M.A., 1974, M.S.W., 1983. Politics: "Trans-political, trans-religious, philosophy most closely resembling existentialism." Hobbies and other interests: Travel, outdoors (coastlines, seashores, cities, the countryside, flora, fauna, people of the world), collecting art.

ADDRESSES: Home—63 Glenna Little Tr., Huntington, NY 11743. Office—P.O. Box 2307, Huntington, NY 11743; fax: 516-421-6340. Agent—Susan Golomb, Susan Golomb Agency, 35 E. 9th St., New York, NY 10003. E-mail—abandonment@erols.com.

CAREER: Music teacher at public schools in Brent-wood, NY, 1968–70, and Coram, NY, 1970–71; Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, Brentwood, psychiatric social worker, beginning in 1975; Central Islip Psychiatric Center, Central Islip, NY, psychiatric social worker, 1975–86; Kings Park Psychiatric Center, Kings Park, NY, psychiatric social worker, until 1986; district social worker for public schools in Bellmore, NY, 1986–99. Private practice of psychotherapy in Huntington, NY, 1980–. Men and Women's Consciousness Raising, cofounder and affiliate, 1983–86; Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, clinical supervisor, 1988–. Guest on television and radio programs; public speaker.

MEMBER: International Women's Writers Guild, National Organization of Social Workers, Association for Substance Abuse Prevention IRE, National Organization for Women, New York State Association of Teachers.

WRITINGS:

Black Swan: The Twelve Lessons of Abandonment Recovery, Rock Foundations Press (Huntington, NY), 2000.

The Journey from Abandonment to Healing, Penguin Putnam (New York, NY), 2000.

The Journey from Heartbreak to Connection: A Workshop in Abandonment Recovery, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to books, including Creativity in Adult Learning, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1999. Contributor to periodicals, including AIM Quarterly and Anthropology Newsletter.

SIDELIGHTS: Susan Anderson once told CA: "I write to express ideas and share information that might be useful to others. Words have a powerful impact when they help us see things differently. When a personal insight comes along, or I learn about something that expanded my own perspective, I am compelled to write about it, hoping to pass the good fortune along.

"Intense life experiences have inspired insights, changed my perspective, and given me the writer's itch. I begin the old-fashioned way, with a pen and pad of paper—I began writing when typewriters weren't even electric yet. The ideas come out fast and furiously at first, but then the work starts—making it intelligible to a potential reader. I find when I have something important to get across, words often fail me. Certain ideas seem hard to express. I do a lot of editing, making me more a sculptor than a writer. I have to cull coherent phrases out of all of the gibberish I've produced. I only stop pruning and sculpting when I feel what I've written is clear.

"I was compelled to write about abandonment because so little serious attention has been paid to this universal issue. When I went through my own abandonment experience, I couldn't find anything in the literature that spoke to the center of my pain. I knew the job was up to me. In Black Swan: The Twelve Lessons of Abandonment Recovery, I think my allegory of 'The Little Girl on the Rock' (part one) accomplishes that.

"In The Journey from Abandonment to Healing I tried to provide as much information as I possibly could, given the limited space of a book. I have the equivalent of at least four more full-length books on the subject. As a therapist, I get to see patterns—common themes in my clients' experiences. I believe it would be helpful to share this information with others. Maybe someday I will take time to publish my writings about them.

"I am compelled to write a manuscript titled Separation of the Races: The Ultimate Human Abandonment because I believe that debunking the myth of race provides a truth whose time is overdue. When I first learned that there are no 'either/or' cutoff points between the so-called races of the world, I suddenly saw everything differently. It was a revelation to learn about the genetic continuum that exists between people from all of the continents. Suddenly I saw that continuum walking up and down the streets of New York City. People are not divided into distinct physical races; they are on a genetic continuum. Our social identities, like African-American, Asian, Jewish, or what-have-you aside, we are all cousins.

"I have done a lot of writing on this subject. My work is drawn from many scientific fields. One physical anthropologist in particular, Leonard Lieberman of Central Michigan University, is a pioneer in the no-race concept. I gain great satisfaction from performing 'Alternate Concept of Race' workshops. I get to see the positive consequences of making this scientific information available to people in person. This motivates me to write about this concept, to share it with more people. The scientific community lacks a dialogue with the general public. That's where I come in, as a social worker, as a change agent. I serve as a conduit, conveying information that can change the way we see ourselves and others."

More recently Anderson added: "In 2003 my cherished marital partner died of an illness, providing me with an opportunity to personally experience another type of loss (not that I was searching for new educational opportunities). I was now in a position to experience a contrast between abandonment grief and grief over death. I found them to significantly different. They seem to be mediated by different biochemistries in the brain and body. I have begun doing research on this subject to better understand myself, as well as to provide vital information to my readers. The subject of bereavement has been written about by many other authors, but I feel that I have made novel observations and have compiled important new information that can help others make sense of the bewildering experience. My writing passion is currently tied up in the issue of grieving over the death of someone you love."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, March 6, 2000, review of The Journey from Abandonment to Healing, p. 98.

Share Guide, March, 2001, review of The Journey from Abandonment to Healing, p. 111.

ONLINE

Abandonment Recovery.com, http://www.abandonment.net/ (February 24, 2006).