Summary
“Surviving Sue” is a heart-wrenching story about the torment of keeping secrets, told from the daughter’s perspective. She navigates her mother’s mental health and addiction issues, while trying to shield and protect her disabled sister. “Surviving Sue” is about the power of storytelling to build resiliency, and a guidebook for others who struggle with complex family issues including Alzheimer’s, depression, alcoholism, developmental and physical disabilities.
About The Author
Dr. Atkinson (Vicki) earned degrees in counseling and psychology and a doctorate in adult education. Vicki is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and a leadership and life coach in private practice. Vicki lives near Chicago with her husband Paul and her daughter, Delaney, who continues to be the light of her life. Vicki’s beloved sister with disabilities, Lisa, continues to thrive, delighting friends and family with her big heart and sense of humor.
My Thoughts On Surviving Sue By Dr. Vicki Atkinson
I recently finished reading Surviving Sue by Dr. Vicki Atkinson. I’ve been trying to read more non-fiction this year and this book has been one of the very few non-fiction books I’ve read that I absolutely could not put down. Genuinely, the book is touching, heartbreaking, and so much more.
In this book, Dr. Vicki walks us through her life and experiences of growing up with a mother (Sue) that suffered from alcoholism and Munchausen by proxy among other mental health issues and later in life suffered from Alzheimer’s. She also talks about how this affected her elder sister Lisa who suffered from disabilities and it’s largely speculated that these disabilities were caused by Sue drinking and/or taking drugs during her pregnancy with Lisa. Dr. Vicki also talks about her other family members such as her dad and her aunts who played a major role in a lot of their life.
The book was well written and didn’t have language that was complicated to understand. It wasn’t too long either, a pretty average length in my opinion.
What Stood Out To Me
There were a couple of things that stood out to me that I wanted to include in the review. The first thing that really stood out to me and was I think the reason I found the book so easy to finish was that Dr. Vicki approached the entire situation with so much empathy, love, and compassion. It didn’t come from a place of anger or resentment. She genuinely tried to understand things from Sue’s point of view too as to why she behaved the way that she did despite Sue harbouring a lot of resentment toward her. She also had a lot of empathy for other family members too.
One of the sections that stood out to me was about disordered eating habits. Because that was something I could strongly relate to. Especially the binging on “bad” food and then starving yourself because of the guilt. It’s something I experienced when I was younger. And I think a lot of people especially women have dealt with disordered eating patterns.
As someone that has dealt with a family member having dementia, I found reading the parts about Sue surffering from Alzheimer’s relatable and heartbreaking. Dr. Vicki did so much for her despite everything and made sure her final years were as comfortable as could be. I don’t know if I could have done that for someone who I had such a complicated relationship with.
Overall
Overall, the book was very well written and easy to finish. I sat down to read a couple of chapters and literally finished the entire book. If you’re looking for a non-fiction read or a memoir, I would recommend Surviving Sue by Dr. Vicki Atkinson. It’s written in a way that’s both emotional and yet detached from more negative emotions/blame. She’s done a lot of work to heal and be in a better place. Genuinely, would strongly recommend the book.
If you are interested in reading Surviving Sue by Dr. Vicki Atkinson, you can find it on Amazon. Check out Dr. Vicki Atkinson’s blog here.
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My first novel, Perfect, is now available on Amazon. If you would like to read it, please click here.
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