The Sensitive One

by Susan Frances Morris

Susan Frances Morris was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, the second-oldest of seven siblings with two sets of twins. She was a practicing nurse from 1989 to 2011, primarily in women’s health. The highlight of her career was the time she spent at Yale New Haven Hospital working in nursing management alongside international experts in the field of women’s health. She met her current husband, Bruce, in 1989. Her passions are walking and bike riding in nature, yoga, traveling, photography, and jewelry design. She has three grown children and four grandchildren. Susan lives with her husband and two dogs in Clifton Park, New York.

Genres: Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

Published August 24, 2021

About the author

Susan Frances Morris was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, the second oldest of seven siblings with two sets of twins. She holds a bachelor's degree in nursing and was a practicing nurse from 1989 to 2011, primarily in Women’s Health. The highlight of her career has been the time she spent at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven Connecticut working in nursing management alongside international experts in the field of women’s health.
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She met her current husband, Bruce, in 1989. Her passions are walking and bike riding in nature, yoga, traveling, photography, and jewelry design. She has three grown children, four grandchildren. She lives with her husband and two dogs in Clifton Park, New York.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, it was not at all what I was expecting.

[Victoria Lanigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply moving memoir that shows the lasting emotions after childhood trauma. Susan has a loving husband, a career as a nurse and a breast cancer diagnosis.
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Bound and determined to find the cause she searches google and finds that one of the risk factors of breast cancer and is shocked to see long term exposure to stress and trauma in childhood could be risk factors.
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Weaving the current and her childhood of trauma caring for her siblings as her dad battled alcoholism this story paints a vivid picture of overcoming the past only to face the future.

[Jess M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's kind of hard to review/rate a memoir.
Someone's life experience being shared is always amazing.
This story was incredible. It read at a wonderful pace. It was heartbreaking at times but worth the pain.

[Missi Martin (Stockwell) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of memoirs. I love reading about another person's life, what they went through and how they handled what life dealt them. I feel that every person has a story inside them and if you are able to get that story out and on paper, that is an amazing accomplishment and I applaud those who do that. Memoirs aren't always rainbows and unicorns, most have had struggles and obstacles to overcome so writing about it is therapy for them ... and could also help the person reading it.

The Sensitive One written by Susan Frances Morris is one that hit close to home with me for a few reasons. Susan writes in two parts, she writes about her time growing up with her parents and seven siblings and the struggles they dealt with. Then she writes about her adult life with her second husband and children of her own.

Growing up Susan had to shoulder some of the "adult" responsibilites while their mother worked and Susan and her siblings were left home alone with an alcoholic father. During that time Susan had to grow up a lot faster than she would have liked but she know she had to take care of the family.

Then Susan jumps ahead to when she is diagnosed with breast cancer and how she handled it with her second husband Bruce. Those chapters hit close to home with me as my mother was diagnosed twice with breast cancer and what she had to go through both time. I could really relate to those chapters, even though it wasn't me going through it, but the most important person in my life and all I could do was sit by helplessly and hope and pray.

Readers will enjoy seeing Susan grow and become strong with what she did to protect herself and her children and then to see her fight cancer ..... it is touching and inspiring.

I don't know what makes a reader pick up a book, especially a memoir, but I highly encourage you to pick up The Sensitive One and let Susan inspire you. I honestly think you will enjoy it.

[Ann Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years, I taught Freshman Writing at Montclair State University. My students wrote about their lives, their hopes, their families, and I became humble before them. I realized that even at 18, everybody has a story to tell. The trick is writing every story so it is engrossing, interesting, and relatable. The Sensitive One fills that bill.
As I looked at Morris sitting next to me recently, I wondered how she had survived so many challenges…but after reading her book, I now know. She embroidered an impressive thinking cap, allowed her emotions to surface, waited for her chances, and grabbed them as they arose. She is a portrait of strength and good sense in the face of unimaginable adversity.
Since Morris was one of many siblings, it was interesting to observe the range of responses to the threatening dysfunction in her family. Everyone was living under the same circumstances, but their outcomes range from complete collapse to dignified escape.
Suspense imbues every page—how does a child survive a dangerous, abusive alcoholic father, a husband patterned on that father, and a threatening health condition? How does she change her patterns? At what point might she give up? How is she still alive today?
While not at all didactic, the story leads to reflection on the role of personal responsibility in the healing process, both for oneself and for others.
Morris’s story is presented straight up with plentiful feeling but little sentimentality and only a scratch or two of self pity. While not dismissing the gravity of the sins committed against her, she has a big enough heart also to appreciate the agonies suffered by her abusers.
After all the suffering, there is a happy ending: a fulfilling career, a loving marriage, children of her own…normality.

[RebeccaReviewedIt · Rating 4 out of 5]

You never really know what you’re going to get into when you start reading a memoir, but I definitely didn’t expect this. Susan’s memoir flips between her childhood with an abusive father to her adult life battling cancer. The stories from her past of growing up with many siblings, her alcoholic father, her troubled sister, the multiple family pregnancies, all were just really compelling. I found myself almost hurrying through the “today” chapters of her battle with cancer just to get back to her childhood stories. I cannot even imagine how it would feel to grow up as she did, then comparing her first and second marriages were just so fascinating for me to read. This was a great read, and I enjoyed reading Susan’s story. I also really appreciated that she told great stories pretty succinctly. Sometimes in memoirs, I think they could benefit from a heavier edit, but I didn’t feel that with The Sensitive One. Thank you so much to Susan Frances Morris and Booksparks for letting me be a part of this summer pop-up! This one’s pub date is coming up – August 24!
#bookstagram #RebeccaReviewedIt

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this title as both a Cancer and middle child, I was dubbed “the sensitive one” long ago by my w tire family. I enjoyed the author’s mention of her childhood history and how that shaped her. I soon learned that Morris was shaped by the immediate big decisions following her childhood, how she came to understand and make sense of her experiences—some disturbing and violent—and how she found the strength to rise and move ahead all on her own.

Morris had reached a personal epiphany of sorts with both her mother and father separately before she bid them farewell in this lifetime. Her strength, bravery, and faith amidst all the tumult and hurdles thrown in her path is to be savored and revered.

[Adriana Rangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read plenty of memoirs before, some captivate me and others don’t. This one definitely captivated me. Easy to read and follow between the timelines. One can go through loss and trauma, yet still heal and grow to the point to where you truly are able to forgive, love, move on, and be at peace. At times it was a challenging for me to keep reading because it was emotionally draining, but I’m so glad I kept reading.

Thank you to booksparks for the gifted copy to read and review.

[Gwen Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan shines through against all odds. Her memoir was moving and drew me in - so it was a fast read. Great descriptions of her childhood with 6 siblings, and a father who became an alcoholic - sad anecdotes with an overall story of survival. Most important, she got her education and seems to have broken the pattern of failure that surrounds her. Kudos to Susan for being such a loving person in light of the sadness she suffered and witnessed.

[Valorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to read a memoir written by a woman that started off with loveless and abusive parents, yet managed to become the woman she wanted to be. Yes there were struggles and setbacks. But she overcame most of her demons and is living a fulfilling life.
I won this book in a Goodreads give away.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, especially the way the author braided her current life situation (stressors and responses) with her childhood so we could understand what she made of circumstances and why. An incredibly important book for anyone struggling to "make sense" of how a difficult childhood can follow us well into adulthood and beyond. Brava.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir of a second daughter of seven children being
raised by a mother who never showed love and an Alcoholic
father. Ms Morris leads the reader thru her previous and
present life. She married early, more to move out
of her home than for love. Well written. She sound have
titled it “I am a Surviver”.

[Odette Lattimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.
I was looking forward to reading this but I struggled with the writing style, I stuck with the back and forth as I needed to know how things turned out.

[Aidan Lockrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this book an it brought up so many emoticons through the words and stories on the pages. This is a great read especially for someone looking to tap into a sensitive side of themselves and read a great narrative of real story.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautifully written memoir of unlearning the past, finding your strength, and learning what love is.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a memoir about redemption after a tumultuous childhood, abusive marriage, and a cancer diagnosis. The memoir can be triggering for anyone who grew up in an unstable household as a child or has been in an abusive relationship. Overall, I did enjoy the book and it was a fast read.