Publication Date: September 29, 2026
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.
Sharing a personal story of grief and heartache, particularly related to mental illness, can be challenging for those involved.
Author Suzanne Sherman goes back to her early childhood memories for Living in the Long Shadow. A mix of chronological and topical organization highlights her mother’s seemingly silent struggle with mental illness.
The author recalls events, now analyzed through an adult lens, that take on new meanings, offering clues to patterns of behavior.
It’s the overall impact that hits the hardest as the author and her siblings try to find answers to unanswerable questions. While emotionally painful in parts, the author includes happier times in her recollections.
Living in the Long Shadow tells the story of a mother’s struggle with hearing voices and hallucinating.
Suzanne Sherman is a memoir editor, coach, consultant, and author. Since 1996 she has taught memoir writing at colleges, online, and in workshops. She has also spoken at the California Writers Club, National Association of Memoir Writers, and Story Circle Network. Her other books are Lesbian and Gay Marriage: Private Commitments, Public Ceremonies (Temple University Press) and Girlhood in America: Personal Stories 1910–2010 (SZS Publishing). Suzanne lives in Northern California.
