Sue Dunham was chosen as a pseudonym as a symbol of the void of ‘self’ that haunted much of her life. She spent her childhood in a family headed by a father with an abusive temper.

With a subconscious need to finally achieve approval, she married a man who mirrored her father’s traits. In a quest for psychological survival, she wrote.

She read scholarly articles and books on trauma to understand the medical changes it caused in her brain. Her poems validated her trauma and traced her journey toward self acceptance and happiness.

Although she was a withdrawn child, she earned the position of grade twelve valedictorian. She went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees, and she earned several scholarships.

She spent her career as a teacher, teaching struggling students. After retirement she did research and consulting work, focusing on the traumas of youth homelessness, and she volunteered with traumatized immigrants from war torn countries.

Sue raised three children in the environment of a difficult marriage. She spent many years as a single divorcee before participating in a long-term friendship that led to a marriage based on companionship, equality and respect.

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