Susan Bourrie
Profile
Susan Bourrie is an author of humorous books and stories for children. Her light verse and poetry (which has received three Music City Song Festival songwriting awards and six national and international poetry competition prizes) have appeared in a variety of adult, literary, and children’s magazines.
Susan graduated from Michigan State University with an Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy with an emphasis in Vision, Literacy, and Learning. Her Master’s Degree in Children’s Literature and Master’s Degree in School Library Media are from Central Michigan University. She completed ALA accredited core classes in Library Science at The University of Michigan.
During her career as a university lecturer, Susan taught courses in children’s literature, composition, research writing, advanced research writing, writing for the professions, and reading: Pre-K through 4th Grade. Her blog, Loving What is Left While Living with Low Vision, and her collaborative efforts with librarians helped bring services for the blind and physically handicapped into public libraries.
Susan was born with open angle glaucoma that optometrists and ophthalmologists failed to diagnose or treat for twenty-two years. When she wasn’t able to pass the test for a driver’s license at age sixteen, one doctor even said she was just a “high-strung bookworm with eye strain.” Because she went through school with a slow reading speed, Susan gravitated to poetry and children’s books where there were fewer words and larger print. Publishing credits in children’s magazines and newspapers opened the door to university lecturing while she still had only a Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Illinois University.
After the glaucoma was diagnosed and treated with medications and five eye operations during the next twenty-two years, Susan’s vision loss did not measure as legally blind. She was not eligible for any low vision patient education or services. A legally blind student, a totally blind student, and a rehabilitation counselor assisting one of these students helped her receive the closed circuit tv, computer with screen-reading software, scanner that could read typed print, talking books from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and audio textbooks from Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexics (now Learning Ally). Susan also received white cane and mobility training before becoming legally blind when her poor vision led to a near-fall down a flight of stairs. With these resources , she was able to complete graduate studies and continue lecturing as newly diagnosed cataracts reached the legally blind stage.
Susan enjoyed speaking to future leaders in classes at the School of Social Work and the School of Library Science at The University of Michigan who were interested in making technology, transportation, and services more accessible for the blind and print impaired as well as patients who are living with potentially blinding eye diseases. Having experienced discrimination during her job search in higher education, Susan is passionate in her efforts to improve the consistently low employment rate of the blind and visually impaired that has remained steady for many decades in spite of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Books by Susan Bourrie
Princess Meander, 2020
The Misadventures of Mistletoe Mouse, 2016
More Misadventures of Mistletoe Mouse, 2020
The Merry Misadventures of Mistletoe Mouse, 2021
The Collected Misadventures of Mistletoe Mouse,2021
The Melodious Adventures of Molly Dolly, 2023
The Meritorious Adventures of Molly Dolly, 2023
The Miraculous Adventures of Molly Dolly, 2023
The Collected Adventures of Molly Dolly, 2023
Children’s Narrative Poems
“Mortimer J. Readabook, the Medicine Man”
“Admiral Seasalt’s Waterbed”
“When Mommy Puts Her Jeans On”
Illustrated and published in Humpty Dumpty’s Magazine (now Humpty Dumpty Magazine).
Additional Information may be found at www.dldbooks.com/susanbourrie/ and Amazon.com
Susan Bourrie 