Other Publications

  • On Author Melanie Brooks' "A Hard Silence"

    Brevity - 2023

    Sitting in summer shorts while reading Melanie Brooks’ heart-enveloping memoir A Hard Silence: One daughter remaps family, grief and faith when HIV/AIDS changes it all, I was reminded that the best memoirists’ long treks through the land of memory often require tactical gear. Read here

  • My Dear Firstborn

    Website Exclusive - May 2022

    As Selling the Lite of Heaven turns 30, Suzanne writes her first book a letter.

    Read here

  • A Bridge for Dreamers

    Yankee - 2021

    Reimagined as a garden in the sky, a former trolley span over the Deerfield River still has the ability to transport visitors. Read here

  • Spear of the Realm

    Yankee - 2021

    In the Pioneer Valley, asparagus is both a celebrated crop and a family legacy. Read here

  • Grit and Grace Reading

    Old Dominion University Literary Festival - 2020

    Suzanne spoke at “Grit and Grace: The 43rd Annual Literary Festival at Old Dominion University” on Oct. 8, 2020

    Watch here

  • “Why Would She Write About That?”

    Michael Steinberg Blog - July 2018

    Suzanne Strempek Shea, a very fine fiction writer, journalist, and memoirist, picks up on Hampl's notion by using an anecdote from a grade school writing assignment as the catalyst for an essay about finding narratives we're passionate about as well as the importance of connecting readers to those narratives. Read here

  • The Promised Land - Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Rescue

    Yankee - Aug 2016

    When working draft horses grow old, their future can be bleak - unless they find themselves at a special draft horse sanctuary like the one in western Massachusetts. Read here

  • Once More to the City

    Down East - March 2016

    To paraphrase Thomas Wolfe, you can’t go to the Old Port again. Or can you? Author Suzanne Strempek Shea revisits the Portland she once knew. Read here

  • ‘Hang on’ – how a mother’s tribute saves lives in Malawi

    The Irish Times - January 2015

    An exterpt from “This Is Paradise”, the story of an Irish mother’s medical memorial to a lost son. Read here

  • Promotion is a 24/7 Job

    The Yellow Jacket - 2015

    Marketing and promotion can be as old-school as a hand-written thank-you note, or as contemporary as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram postings. It’s all a matter of pouring yourself into the job. Read here

  • If Your Dogs Were Writers

    Waggleview - 2015

    Find out about this remarkable woman leader and her dog. Woof on! Read here

  • Connecting Point with Mags Riordan and Suzanne

    New England Public Media - 2014

    Author Suzanne Strempek Shea of Palmer discusses her latest work, "This is Paradise: A Mother's Grief, an African Village's Plight and the Medical Clinic That Brought Fresh Hope to Both". She's joined by Mags Riordan, whose story of building a clinic in Africa to honor her late son is told in the book. Watch here

  • This Is Paradise Reading/Talk

    Edwards's Public Library - 2104

    Watch here

  • This is Paradise Reading/Talk

    Edwards Public Library - 2014

    The Monson Free Library welcomed local novelist Suzanne Strempek Shea for a reading of her two new books, “This Is Paradise” and “Make a Wish But Not For Money.” Watch here.

  • Behind This is Paradise

    Boston Globe - 2014

    Suzanne Strempek Shea met Mags Riordan 10 years ago at the Big E, the event billed as New England's biggest fair held each September in Springfield at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds. Read here

  • Guest in Progress: Suzanne Strempek Shea on Organizing Your Writing Life

    Work In Progress Blog - 2010

    Read Suzanne’s piece about organizing your writing life here

  • Reverend Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., Ph.D. Inauguration Keynote Address

    Keynote Address, University of Scranton - 2009

    Suzanne’s Keynote Address at the Inauguration of Scott Pilarz, S.J., Ph.D., as the 24th President of the University of Scranton, May 12, 2009.

    Suzanne is awarded an honorary degree at the start of the video. Her talk begins at 4:10. Watch here.

    Scott died in 2021 at age 61, from complications related to ALS.

  • Puppy Bowl V

    Bark - Jan/Feb 2009

    A new team takes the field. Read here

  • The Winter Baby

    Bark - November 2008

    You can time the moment you fall for your next puppy as much as you can time the moment you fall for anyone. Thus, Bisquick joined my family last November.

  • Best Bookstores in New England

    Yankee - October 2008

    There’s nothing quite like curling up with a good book, or picking one out at one of the best bookstores in New England. Susanne Strempek Shea, one of the Pioneer Valley’s best-loved writers, chose these beloved shops as the best bookstores in New England. Read here

  • Karen Allen: Actress to Clothing Designer

    Yankee - February 2008

    After nearly three decades in show business, a successful actress moves to a bucolic New England village where she creates and sells her own line of clothing. The role is one Karen Allen might be tempted to play — if she weren’t already living it. Read here

  • On Rivington Street, New York is a cup of tea

    The Boston Globe - April 2006

    In January 2002, they signed the lease for this space across from a synagogue, a tailor's shop, and a convenience store. Moby was on tour during much of the time it took to transform what once was a hair salon, and a dried fish and fruit shop. The teahouse opened that May.

  • On the Loose with Dr. Seuss in Springfield, MA

    Yankee - January 2007

    When you grow weary of hearing “There’s nothing to do!” take the kids to the Springfield Museums in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Hint: Don’t say “museum.” Better: “We’re going to where Dr. Seuss grew up.”) Within minutes after you arrive, that “nothing” will flip to “everything.” Read here

  • Interview with Suzanne Strempek Shea

    Book Loons - 2004

    According to her publicist, Suzanne Strempek Shea is 'A lively storyteller who peppers all of her books with her natural grace and humor'. This year's memoir, Shelf Life, is amusing, sometimes passionate. Shea writes of working in a bookstore, that it's like being 'a sugar freak in a candy store', and that one of the bonuses lies in being able to promote her own books. Read here.