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Susan Z. Ritz

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Born

Des Moines, IA, The United States

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@szritz

Member Since

May 2008

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https://www.goodreads.com/szritz

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Susan Ritz grew up in Minnesota, but she left home to become a wandering scholar; she lived, studied, and worked as a social worker in Kenya, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia in the 1970s. She worked as a human rights lobbyist in Washington, DC, during the Carter Administration before moving to Dachau, Germany, the setting for her memoir in progress, On the Edge of Dachau. For the past thirty years she has lived with her husband and three children in Montpelier, Vermont, where she has worked as a fund raiser, events coordinator, and philanthropic advisor for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, especially those promoting economic equality for women. Writing, however, has always been her passion, and after receiving an MFA in creative non ...more

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Average rating: 3.11 · 176 ratings · 69 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

A Dream to Die For: A Novel

3.11 avg rating — 176 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions

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Susan Z. Ritz's Blog

How to Write About Dreams

How to Write About Dreams

We all like to talk about our dreams, but few people want to hear about them. Our own dreams are revelatory, scary, confusing, funny, and weird; other people’s dreams are just plain boring. That’s why so many writing teachers and editors warn us not to throw dreams into our stories if we want to keep our readers turning pages.
When I sat down to write my mystery, A Dream Read more of this blog post »

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Published on August 09, 2019 11:16 • Tags: craft, dreams

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Susan is Currently Reading

Susan Ritz is currently reading

The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life

by Marion Roach Smith

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Mar 09, 2021 05:14PM

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Untamed

by Glennon Doyle (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 13, 2021 05:51AM

Susan Ritz is currently reading

Headstrong: Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury

by JoAnne Silver Jones

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Feb 05, 2021 04:02PM

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Susan’s Recent Updates

Susan Ritz entered a giveaway Solito by Javier Zamora (Goodreads Author) 50 copies available, ends on April 30, 2026 Enter to win »
Apr 01, 2026 04:43PM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Solito by Javier Zamora. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Solito by Javier Zamora <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz liked Sandy Sweatt Hull's review of The Correspondent: "I listened to it on Audible and I’m glad that I did. I enjoyed the voices of the variety of characters. The book brought back memories of writing letters to family and friends when I was young and admiring the many letters that my grandmother wrote t" Read more of this review »
Mar 27, 2026 06:39AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were) by Eve Babitz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 23, 2026 09:59AM · like
Susan Ritz wants to read Kin by Tayari Jones (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 16, 2026 03:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kin by Tayari Jones. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kin by Tayari Jones <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 16, 2026 03:10PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz rated a book liked it The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama by Roland Merullo (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 14, 2026 07:40PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Delight of Being Ordinary by Roland Merullo. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Delight of Being Ordinary by Roland Merullo <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 05, 2026 04:37AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz rated a book really liked it The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 03, 2026 01:08PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wager by David Grann. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wager by David Grann <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz liked Carl Williams's review of The Black Wolf (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #20): "This is the 20th telling of the adventures of Armand Gamache, and a completion of the story begun in the 19th of the series. Armand Gamache leaves the world of Three Pines for rubbing elbows with the movers and shakers of the free world in order to de" Read more of this review »
Feb 25, 2026 01:17PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Black Wolf by Louise Penny. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Black Wolf by Louise Penny <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 25, 2026 01:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Susan’s Quotes

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”
― Julian of Norwich

tags: hope-springs-eternal

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“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

tags: books, life, limits

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“You are not the oil, you are not the air—merely the point of combustion, the flash-point where the light is born. You are merely the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency—your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end and remain purely as a means.”
― Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings: Spiritual Poems and Meditations

tags: 1964, light, selflessness, transparency

4 likes

“Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions”
― Dag Hammarskjold

92 likes

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. ”
― Dag Hammarskjold

22 likes

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Susan’s Year In Books

Susan Z. Ritz’s Followers (34)

Susan’s Bookshelves

Susan’s Friends (123)

2026 Reading Challenge

Susan Z. Ritz

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Susan Z. Ritz's Blog

How to Write About Dreams

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Preview — The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

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Preview — The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri

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