Elephants Have Wings

From Susanne: I grew up in beautiful Sydney with my older brother Thomas and younger sister Elizabeth. My parents were refugees who escaped from war, communism and terrorism in Hungary. They hoped to be accepted by a democratic county. Australia offered them a new home.
My father was a farmer and my mother the daughter of a Professor of Engineering in Hungary. I spoke on ABC National about that journey to uncover more.

My parents didn’t speak English when they arrived and worked in factories rebuilding their lives.

I married an engineer and became a teacher and educational consultant. I have two wonderful kids – Tory who’s 8 in the photo, and is dressed in a Hungarian outfit made by her Grandma. Her older brother is Jamie (also known as JACK) who inspired my I Am Jack books.

Life gets complicated. My father died of cancer, my marriage broke down and I got cancer. But life is about meeting challenges, friendships, being all you can be. So I started writing for my children so they’d laugh and feel safe. Then I started writing for all kids, parents and everyone.

I studied and made my parents proud. I became a high school teacher, university lecturer and educational consultant specializing in child growth & development with a B.A (UniSyd), M.Ed (UNSW), Dip. Ed. and MA (UTS)