If You Knew Suzy - by Jane Fischer & Carol Ann Ross (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Born with severe brain defects, Suzy was sentenced to a life of "nevers." With the unwavering support of her mother, Jane, and extended family, Suzy's miraculous journey has given many experts reason to question the medical textbooks that have been written. From predictions that she would never walk, talk, or function in society, Suzy overcame all these obstacles with determination and perseverance-not even allowing final-stage renal failure at the age of twenty-four to deter her. This book is not just a tribute to Suzy, but a roadmap for all parents experiencing the challenges of raising a child with disabilities and/or medical issues.

Never a victim, Suzy proceeded through infant stimulation, studies in public and specialized schools, and summer programs geared to the disabled community. Her achievements include winning medals during the Tournament of Champions, performing in a dance recital, celebrating a Bat Mitzvah, living independently, and holding a position as a classroom assistant for the past twenty-three years. Her joy of life to this day, offers us hope while showing us that giving up is not a choice.

While her IQ score identifies Suzy with severe intellectual disabilities, she never ceases to show kindness, empathy, selflessness, and compassion for others. Told with the hope that other parents will learn from her successes, and failures, this is also a story of the power of perseverance, courage, and love.

Review Quotes

Normal parenting is hard enough. Parenting a child with a disability can be one of life's most difficult challenges. As a child psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience working with youngsters with a variety of neuropsychological and developmental disabilities, I found this book to be enlightening, reaffirming and heartwarming. The dyad of Jane and Suzy, prove that the power of the symbiotic bond between a mother and child should never be underestimated. Their superhuman emotional determination and innate compassion in the face of intense adversity, served to bring out the very best in each other. Jane's love, sensitivity to her daughter's desires, and her own ability for self-reflection propelled her to push beyond the limits of medical knowledge, resulting in Suzy developmentally growing beyond physicians' expectations. Suzy appears to be what her mother describes as a "fountainhead," a beacon of innocent joy and delight who brings sunshine into the lives of all who make her acquaintance. What an unexpected but well-deserved triumph! Hopefully, this book helps parents of youngsters with disabilities feel less alone and more optimistic about their child's future. Raising a child with multiple disabilities and denying the advice of a variety of medical naysayers is very difficult and fraught with landmines. Yet sometimes as the story of Suzy and Jane demonstrates, commitment to this path may also be rife with a myriad of unexpected blessings and surprises.-Rosalie Greenberg, MD, LFAPA, DFAACAP, Board Certified in Child, Adolescent and General Psychiatry, Author: Bipolar Kids: Helping Your Child Find Calm in the Mood Storm; Co-author: When Acting Out Isn't Acting: Understanding Child and Adolescent Temper, Anger, and Behavior. Disorders

Jane Fischer has captured the essence of meeting the challenges of parenting a child with developmental disabilities. "If You Knew Suzy" is a compassionate and instructive portrayal. It should be required reading for parents and professionals responsible for shaping such lives. -Warren E. Heiss, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Former Chair, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Montclair State University

If You Knew Suzy is a poignant account of how a mother's love and advocacy can positively influence the life of a child with even the most dire of medical predictions. A must-read for any family starting their journey with a child with special needs.--Jennifer C. Dempsey, MPH
Research Coordinator, Hindbrain Malformation Research Program at the University of Washington

Suzy Fischer has defied all the books I have read as well as written. She is a miracle." --Arnold Gold, M.D., Professor of Clinical Neurology and Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

May the "Suzy Effect," as described in this book, inspire every family to enjoy and love each of their children with new appreciation and joy, especially children like Suzy, whose potential is impossible to accurately forecast! -Dr. Sandra O. Gold MMS, EdD, Co-Founder and Trustee of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the leading national nonprofit championing humanism in healthcare.

"Suzy's story will encourage readers to reassess what they think of as misfortune--especially parents with any type of challenge. This story will motivate families to accept that while life hasn't gone according to plan, life has presented the unexpected blessings of new gifts, deeper experiences, and rewards."--Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House; Glory Over Everything and Crow Mary: A Novel

"I loved this story of a determined mother, an even more determined daughter, and the family that rallied around them. Jane Fischer doesn't pull a