Illinois Authors

Susan Lorraine Fox

Born: 1946 in Momence, Illinois
Pen Name: Susan Fox

Connection to Illinois: Fox lives in Momence, along the Kankakee River. She graduated from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Kankakee Community College, and completed a certificate in technical writing from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Her book links a sleepy river town with a country halfway around the world, and a time in history that reaches back nearly forty decades. ''Little Women of Baghlan: the Story of a Nursing School for Girls in Afghanistan, the Peace Corps, and Life Before the Taliban'' is the true account of an ordinary young woman who answers the call to service and adventure during an extraordinary time in world history. Illinois native Jo Carter lands in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 1968, with instructions to start a nursing school for Afghan girls. She keeps a daily journal, and nearly a half century later, her words are a window to the past—when Afghanistan was on the cusp of becoming a modern nation, moving toward recognizing women’s rights. That coun try is gone, buried under layers of recent events, and there is little evidence to indicate that such a time or place ever existed. Little Women of Baghlan rivals the excitement, intrigue, and suspense of any novel, unfolding against the backdrop of changing social mores, the Cold War, the Peace Corps, and a country at the crossroads of China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran.

Biography: Susan Fox has worked as a technical writer for a major consulting firm in the Chicago area, and is a member of the Literary Writers Network, currently serving as senior editorial assistant for their online publication, 10,000 Tons of Black Ink. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois, a nursing degree, and a certificate in technical writing from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Fox has been a keynote speaker at The Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, hosted by Dr. Michael Spath, and has read excerpts from her book at one of Chicago’s premier independent book stores, the Book Cellar. The opening pages of the book recently took honors in the nonfiction category at the Writers’ Institute in Madison, Wisconsin.Susan works at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, Illinois, serves on the Human Rights Committee for Good Shepherd Manor in Momence, Illinois, and is a member of the Kankakee Valley Wind Ensemble. She lives in Momence with her husband Ken.

• -- Honors at Writers Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Primary Literary Genre(s): Non-Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers; Young adult readers

Email: suefox.writer@gmail.com
Website: http://www.littlewomenofbaghlan.com
Susan Lorraine Fox on WorldCat : http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=susan+fox+Baghlan

Selected Titles