Sue William Silverman

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

Aquinas College
Armstrong State Univ.
Eastern Washington Univ.
Georgia College & State Univ.
Grand Valley State Univ.
Hollins University
Hope College
Interlochen Center for the Arts
Kalamazoo College
Memphis Univ.
Michigan State Univ.
Oakland Community College Writers Conf.
Ohio State University
Randolph-Macon Women's College
Salem State Univ.
SUNY, Cortland
Syracuse Univ.
Univ. of Alabama
Univ. of Iowa
Univ. of Nebraska
Univ. of Nevada
Univ. of Southern Maine
Vermont College

SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS & WRITERS' CONFERENCES

AAUW, Foxboro, MA
Associated Writing Programs
Bear Lake Writers Conf.
Child & Parent Center
Child Sex Abuse Project, Ithaca
Children's Assessment Center
DePelchin Children's Center & Brigid's Place, Houston
Far Field Writers Retreat
From Denial to Dialogue: The Jewish Community Confronts Domestic Violence
Great Basin Book Fair, Nevada
Great Lakes Booksellers Assoc. Trade Show
International Women's Writing Guild
Jewish Comm. Center Book Fair, Detroit
Jewish Community Center, Omaha
Jewish Family & Career Services, Atlanta
Jewish Women Int'l./MA Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Kachemak Bay Writers Conf.
Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Council
Kent County Intermediate School District
Lake County Council Against Sexual Assault
Livingston Children's Advocacy Network
Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conf.
MI Conf. on Child Abuse & Neglect
MI Writers Series
Neb. Commission on Crime
Nat'l Council of Jewish Women, Detroit
Nat'l Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity
New England Conf. on Child Sexual Abuse
Prosecuting Attorneys & Victim Advocates, MI
Rally of Writers
Stonecoast Writers Conference
Vermont College Post-Graduate Writers Conference
Women of Reform Judaism

CONTACT

My e-mail address is suesilverman@charter.net.
If, for some technical reason, you aren't able to reach me at the above address, you can also try me at suewilliamsilverman@yahoo.com. THANK YOU.

PROFESSIONAL CONTACT

To contact Sue Silverman for a media interview or a professional speaking engagement, please call at 616.847.1991, or use the e-mail address above.

BRIEF OVERVIEW

Sue William Silverman is the author of two memoirs and a collection of poetry (see "Publications" below) as well as a professional speaker on the issues of child abuse, family dynamics, and addictions. She also conducts workshops on the silent language of child abuse and addictions to educators and mental health professionals (see "Testimonials" below). In addition, she's been interviewed on such television programs as CNN-Headline News, Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN), the Discovery Health channel, and ABC-TV, as well as many radio shows. She is on the faculty of Vermont College where she teaches in the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program. She lives in Michigan.

PUBLICATIONS

Books: Memoirs

Love Sick: One Woman's Journey Through Sexual Addiction
W. W. Norton, May, 2001
Selected by Literary Guild, Quality Paperback, Venus, and One Spirit book clubs.

Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You (Winner: Associated Writing Programs Award Series in Creative Nonfiction) University of Georgia Press, 1996, 1999, now in its 6th edition.

Books have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, and Norwegian.

Books: Poetry

Hieroglyphics in Neon
A collection of poetry published with Orchises Press.

Individual Poems, Essays, Short Stories (a selected list):

Redbook, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Charleston Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Education, The Writer's Chronicle, Lilith, Arts & Letters, The Caribbean Writer, Prairie Schooner, Water~Stone, Hotel Amerika, Mid-American Review

CURRENT POSITIONS

Faculty, low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, Vermont College.

Associate Editor, Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction.

Professional speaker on the subjects of child abuse and addictions (see "Testimonials" below).

Conducts creative nonfiction workshops at colleges and writers conferences.

AWARDS & HONORS

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters for work in Literature and Child Abuse Victim Advocacy. Aquinas College, May, 2001.

Winner, the Associated Writing Programs Award Series in Creative Nonfiction, 1995, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You.

Three essays won contests with the following journals: Hotel Amerika, Mid-American Review, and the Brenda Euland Prose Prize with Water~Stone Review.

Selected into Contemporary Authors, published by the Gale Group.

Two stories nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

As a professional speaker, I address such topics as incest and child abuse, domestic violence, spirituality, recovery, family dynamics, and sexual addiction. I also conduct creative nonfiction writing workshops and focus on the importance of women's voices.

"I am staggered by Sue's capacity to see beauty and goodness despite what had happened to her. She is an extraordinarily articulate, sensitive, and engaging speaker. I've seen few readers field difficult questions with as much grace. She inspires me." ~~Alison Swan, Shaman Drum Bookshop

"Ms. Silverman held her audience enthralled by her evocative speech and by her sensitive answers to questions. One of the most difficult tasks in a reading of such a memoir is to project the feeling of an abused and terrorized child to an audience. Ms. Silverman achieves her goal with skill and warmth."
~~Brendan F. Gilbane, Dean, CGS, Boston Univ.

"Unlike many other writers Ms. Silverman is a polished, effective, and captivating speaker. To say that the atmosphere during the reading was 'electric' is not, by any means, an understatement. I would not hesitate to engage her for a public reading, lecture, or panel. Among contemporary women writers and speakers, she is exemplary." ~~Dr. Kathleen Blumreich, Professor of English, Grand Valley State Univ.

"Sue bridges that gap between the clinical perspective and the deeper existential reality of the human experience of childhood sexual abuse. She communicates with clarity and insight and brings her audience to a deeper understanding of sexual abuse. I highly recommend her message to other clinicians." ~~Dr. Wayne B. Kinzie, Diplomate in Clinical Psychology

"Compelling. Heart-wrenching. Shocking. Illuminating. Poignant. Motivating. Articulate. Courageous." ~~Children's Assessment Center Fundraiser

"Sue's presentation was excellent. The teachers were very positive in their evaluation of the session. They not only found her to be an excellent presenter, but very helpful in content." ~~Cheryl Blair, Kent Intermediate School District

"Sue's presentation in our 'From Denial to Dialogue: The Jewish Community Confronts Domestic Violence' conference was a wonderful gift to the Atlanta community, Jewish and non-Jewish. The powerful and passionate manner in which she spoke touched so many people. While she provided us with a picture of how a community's lack of response to domestic violence can destroy the community, she also left us with hope for what changes can take place in a community." ~~Wendy Lipshutz, Jewish Family & Career Services

"Sue Silverman is not only a gifted writer, she's a captivating speaker. She has a gentle way of commanding attention. She also listens carefully to questions from the audience and responds with sensitivity and intelligence. She is serious about her subject matter yet she is also funny at times, and always positive. She succeeds in being 'uplifting' and 'inspiring' about a problem most people cannot conceive of in those terms. She is an extraordinary woman."
~~Dr. William Sechrist, SUNY, Cortland

"I was extremely impressed with Sue's candor, her friendliness, and knowledge. Her audience loved her and her presentation." ~~Dr. Sunny Andrews, Director, School of Social Work, Univ. of Nebraska, Omaha

"Reading her book, you wonder how she has survived. Meeting her and hearing her speak, you begin to understand: Sue Silverman is an extraordinary person who is saved by her creativity and her inviolable belief in humanity." ~~Anna Monardo, Professor, The Writers Workshop, Univ. of Nebraska, Omaha