Hello, friends! This week’s “Peek Inside” shares more from the interview with my publisher, Rick Kaempfer, plus a wonderful new review.
I shared a post about the promo process recently because I know many of you are curious about the ‘behind the scenes’ aspects of publishing. Learning to talk about yourself, your book, your motivation, the hits and misses. It’s no small thing. I’m grateful to many writer friends here on WordPress for sharing their insights and expertise. So very helpful!
The entire Q & A can be found here. I loved Rick’s questions about healing and the lessons I learned, motivating me to write about my mom:
EP: Mental illness and addiction are such common problems in America, it’s fair to say that no family is untouched by either one. What do you hope readers take away from this book that might help them deal with one or both issues?
Vicki: Healing is possible. Parents are people, too – first and foremost – and there is no ‘perfect parenting’. I’m a believer in treatment, therapy, and time…time to address the pain points that originate in family madness and time to make peace and find solace in order to move on and love each other anyway.
EP: You have spent a lifetime in the counseling world, in academics and now as a leadership and life coach. How did the lessons learned living this story inform your approach in your professional life?
Vicki: The common thread in the work I’ve done as well as this book is that I try to live my life authentically and I’m a walking advertisement for the power of connection, the power of people helping people. Family dramas, pain, mental illness, Alzheimer’s, addiction, dealing with elder care issues might be inevitable but the comfort that people can find by being connected to others, finding communities of support, can make all the difference. I wanted to highlight the people that helped me in my journey with Sue, especially at the end of her life, and also encourage others to be helpers to those around them.
How about a fresh review? Thank you to Pete Springer for his lovely review, just posted on Amazon:
Surviving Sue is a moving personal story by Dr. Vicki Atkinson detailing the challenges of growing up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic, controlling mother and navigating those sudden mood changes. I appreciated that the author wrote an honest tale and held back none of the horrors she and her family experienced. At the same time, this is not a book unleashing all the author’s grievances toward her mother. It fairly characterizes Sue’s strengths and gives her mom credit for her mom’s positive qualities. Sue could be the life of the party, but she could also turn on a dime with hurtful anger. She also was an advocate for the developmentally disabled. While most of this came in the form of verbal abuse, Sue’s problems escalated over time.
-Pete Springer, Author of “They Call Me Mom”
Sue had a narcissistic personality and tried to portray herself as a caring and loving mother, especially with her developmentally disabled daughter, Lisa. While Sue stood up for Lisa and other children like her, she developed an unhealthy controlling behavior, dispensing unnecessary medicines for non-existing ailments. Sue’s wrath came out in many ways and was often directed at Vicki, who became a frequent target of Sue.
After Atkinson marries and has a daughter, she faces the formidable challenge of supporting Sue as her problems escalate. Sue’s struggles made me reflect on personal challenges with my mother as her Alzheimer’s progressed. This moving memoir shows the effects on not only the person experiencing Alzheimer’s but their family in finding suitable housing and trained professionals to provide guidance and support.
Thank you for your continuing interest in my mom’s story. Your reviews on Amazon and here on the “Surviving Sue” page are precious to me. The feedback loop to a writer is a more important element than I’d ever imagined. Thank you for being part of my journey. And if you’re in the Chicago area on September 9…I’d love to see you at the Printer’s Row Lit Fest!
-Vicki ❤
Victoria Ponders 
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