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Susan D. Anderson earned her doctorate in Instructional Leadership at the University of
Massachusetts in 1980 and had a distinguished career in early childhood education and teacher education. During those years in academia, writing became her primary interest, along with a desire to tell the extraordinary story of her own childhood. She began work on this memoir during two years spent in solitude on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. After a second career as a writer and manager in educational corporations, Susan retired in order to write full time. An accumulation of her signature “essays for the soul” can be found on her web site, www.sunderlassieexpress.com. Susan lives in the Connecticut River valley of western Massachusetts, where she is content to write, cook, garden and take photographs of her flowers. Time After Time is her first book.
Reviewed by Patricia Day for Readers' Favorite
During childhood, we all need the nurturing care of good parents. When your mother treats you with spiteful disdain and physical cruelty, calling her mother or even Mom can stick in the throat. Favoritism towards one’s children, unfortunately, does happen, but as long as love is shown and daily needs are met there is little cause for alarm. However, when a child is deprived of these emotional supports, in favor of other siblings’ welfare, intervention should happen – no matter what the consequences are, in order to save the child. Susan clearly and honestly opens the story of her life – or the lack of, if the abuse against her is taken into account. Her mother’s sole purpose was to make her young daughter’s life miserable. Nothing Susan says or does brings relief from the constant torment against her. Spending time in her room became the norm. Not being allowed to have friends was the norm. Beaten and being neglected was the norm. How she responded to the barrage of abuse makes for compelling but somber reading. Her relational and conversational skills remained undeveloped due to the isolation imposed upon her. One aunt, Lorraine, shows her true love. She was the exception. Others stayed away, being unable to confront Susan’s mother Priscilla and stem her cruelty to her middle child. Where was her husband in all this? Like others in the family, he was hushed into silence.
I read this book, waiting for an explanation for Priscilla’s behavior to become apparent. I cannot imagine the intense stress experienced, but what I can say is that the emotional turmoil is obvious, page after page. The fact that Susan has emerged as an adept adult and written about her horrendous upbringing is certainly worthy of great reward and admiration.
