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Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About the Book
This literary coming-of-age memoir, set in ’60s–’70s Los Angeles, traces a daughter’s experience of her mother’s schizophrenia and its lasting fallout before an extraordinary sign teaches her that love endures beyond loss.
Living in the Long Shadow is a poignant memoir told in dual timelines: the formative years of Suzanne’s childhood and the two weeks following her mother’s suicide when Suzanne is eighteen. With honesty and grace, Suzanne traces what it means to grow up in the shadow of mental illness—navigating her need for guidance and belonging, the fear of inheriting her mother’s illness, and the journey of loving a mother unable to live with or without her medication.
Ten years after her mother’s passing, an extraordinary sign affirms the enduring presence of her love—and Suzanne’s grief begins to make room for acceptance. This is a story of resilience: the difficult choices that lead toward healing, the friendships and family bonds that sustain us, and the way love can reach us even after death.
Living in the Long Shadow is a poignant memoir told in dual timelines: the formative years of Suzanne’s childhood and the two weeks following her mother’s suicide when Suzanne is eighteen. With honesty and grace, Suzanne traces what it means to grow up in the shadow of mental illness—navigating her need for guidance and belonging, the fear of inheriting her mother’s illness, and the journey of loving a mother unable to live with or without her medication.
Ten years after her mother’s passing, an extraordinary sign affirms the enduring presence of her love—and Suzanne’s grief begins to make room for acceptance. This is a story of resilience: the difficult choices that lead toward healing, the friendships and family bonds that sustain us, and the way love can reach us even after death.
Product Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press (September 29, 2026)
- Length: 312 pages
- ISBN13: 9798896361589
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Raves and Reviews
“Living in the Long Shadow lands with the authority of a memoir that wasn’t written quickly. Sherman spent decades earning the distance to look at this material, and it shows.”—Manhattan Book Review
“What separates this from the crowded shelf of mental illness memoirs is Sherman's refusal to sentimentalize either the mother or herself. . . . The portrait that results is fully dimensional: a person, not a diagnosis.”—Los Angeles Book Review
“The memoir understands that love and fear can live in the same room, sometimes in the same breath, and Sherman has a rare gift for letting those contradictions remain unsettled.”—Literary Titan
“With haunting clarity, Sherman holds the tension between sorrow and peace as she ultimately steps out of her mother's long shadow, showing us how to reassemble our broken pieces into something whole.”—Samantha Rose, author of Giving Up the Ghost: A Daughter's Memoir
"Beautifully written book. Highly recommended!"—Stephanie Chandler, CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Living in the Long Shadow
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