Susie
“I love my ‘younger me’ that lives deep within me - she emerges often, and as her ‘older me,’ she knows that she feels deeply supported.”
Susie is a versatile career woman, working as both a psychotherapist and an accomplished professional photographer. She is passionate about connecting with others, which she calls “the art of connection,” whether visually or verbally, and makes it her mission to instill confidence in others through her avenues of work. Her Instagram page is a collection of beautiful imagery, capturing women over the age of 60 in all their glory; she aspires to give others a sense of self love and pride for how they present themselves every day. Her caring and compassionate nature is evident in how she looks at the world around her, and especially the ways in which she encourages others to see themselves. Meet Susie. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
S: I am an Australian woman in my mid 60’s living in New York City with my husband of 36 years, step children and two grandsons. I have lived in NYC since 2004. I grew up on a farm/ranch in South Australia with my family, 4 brothers and my parents. As a teenager, like a lot of my friends in this rural community, I went to boarding school in Adelaide for my senior years, 6 years in total.
I am a nature lover, I love connecting with people, I love photography - whatever my subject. I have travelled parts of the world, always with a camera attached to my hip.
My camera is a big part of who I am and in this, and in this, I really come alive.
As a pre-teen, my father bought one camera for the entire family - his desire was to photograph his sporting abilities, both golf and all sorts of boating competitions. All involved a competitive nature - images which my siblings and I still have now, some 50 years ago. When he wasn’t using the camera, I used it!
Growing up on a farm, it was part of farming life that we all worked on the land during our school holidays. The money I earned I used to buy film and process the film after I captured each 36 images on the roll. A lot of my farm-working money was spent this way. I waited with such anticipation to see what I had captured! I repeated this over and over again throughout my teens and early 20’s.
I am a psychotherapist and a professional photographer. I am passionate about both lines of my work - and it is through these professions, I come alive. I like to call it the “Art of Connection”.
I started my @women.60.plus work back in 2017 when I turned 60. I felt as though I was becoming invisible. Not that I knew it at the time, this was the beginning of my journey into personal deeper understanding and awareness - a real self-knowing. It is emerged in my connection with extraordinary women (all over 60) and during COVID. I recognized that I am not alone in this journey - there are things that are both individual and universal to us all as we move towards the latter part of our lives. I realize that I may be older, but I feel alive and that I have a LOT of life left to live. In my 60’s - I call it, my “pre-golden” years. I liken it to our “pre-teens” years - only now, I can sculpt my older years as I want. I am fortunate enough to have freedom and good health to afford this.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
S: I am a “tom-boy” growing up with many brothers in a semi-remote part of South Australia. Now, I still think of myself as a “tom-boy” who wears lippie (Australian for lip-stick)! I consider myself to be an extravert but also, I have a tendency to go deep within to really pay attention to my own needs for deeper understanding. I love connecting with people and animals - I guess, I am a social being and I don’t like large gatherings! Small and intimate gatherings are the times when I really come alive. I am in great health, I am sporty, I am musical, I am an artist, I am a nature-lover, I am deeply empathic, I am a feminist, I am an “honorary-mother” to many children, I am a daughter, a grand-daughter, a partner (wife), a step-mother and grandmother, a sister an aunt and I am a friend to a few treasured people.
I like to grab an opportunity when offered, because I don’t want to get to the end of my life and say to myself, “Oh, I wish I had done that!”
I know I don’t want to NOT do something because I am afraid of this. It’s as if my anxiety and my fear propel me into doing the things that I am frightened of. I have a feel good factor about achieving this.
I feel I am a simple in-depth person with a big heart.
K: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
S: I love my photographic work. I have a keen eye and can “see” a picture and or location that would work well in images.
I love the way I am paying attention to myself. Throughout my life, I had given so much attention to others because I felt others had so much more to offer than me. It was as if I didn’t feel worthy of this attention. Now, I have become more visible to myself and I love the fact that I am feeling myself emerge into an empowered woman. An empowered woman who offers much to a circle of people with whom I connect with. It’s like a “ripple-effect”. If I can connect with another, while remaining true to myself, then I deeply trust that this person will connect with another and “ripple-effect” takes hold.
Oh - and I love my smile! People say I have good teeth and they really show when I smile!!
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
S: After separating from (and later divorcing) my first husband I decided to travel from Australia to the UK. This was a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. My good friend supported and encouraged me to go overseas. I went on my own. I didn’t know anyone. This trip enabled me the freedom to explore parts of the world and this was the beginning of my own self-discovery. That journey of self-discovery continues, some 40+ years later and I hope to the end of my life. It is THE most fascinating journey!
K: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
S: I have been asked this question many times and I never really know how the answer to this! So here I go!
My “younger me” and my “older me” are both intertwined. As the “older me”, I deeply trust that I could support my “younger me” in the fields that I was passionate about. I wanted to be many things - I wanted to work in remote areas of Australia and overseas, I wanted to be a “singer-songwriter”, I wanted to be a teacher of young children to name but a few. These was never really encouraged in me and I didn’t really have the support and or confidence to pursue any of my desires/dreams on my own. I regret this on so many levels, because some of these dreams are deep within me. My “older me” would encourage and promote my “younger me” with support and provide opportunities to discover those dreams. My “younger me” would undoubtedly have fears, and so often, she would be scared to try something out because of those fears and anxieties. But - if my “younger me” KNEW that her “older me” was available to and for her to rely on, then I would support her 100%. Unconditional love is the bond that we share. I love my “younger me” that lives deep within me - she emerges often, and as her “older me”, she knows that she feels deeply supported.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
S: Vulnerable and courageous, soft and assertive, strong and gentle, empathic and empowered, funny and serious, open and honest, simple and complex, the complexity of being diverse and centered AND in being a woman.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
S: There are women who inspire me, each with their own strengths. My maternal grandmother is the woman I am paying tribute to. My grandmother was the light of my life. She was the matriarch of our family. Life centered around her. She cared deeply for me when my family was experiencing deep pains of divorce and separation. When my mother was in need of time and personal exploration following her divorce, I lived with my grandmother as a 10/11 year old before I went to boarding school. She was tender, kind, tough-love and a nurturing woman. She died in 1988, over 30 years ago. I flew back to Australia when she was terminally ill, helping my mother care for her. I think of her often - she would always say when I left Australia (I always stayed with her on my visits) that “it’s strangely quiet here without you”. That expression lives on in our family!
I said to her before she died that she had provided me with the unconditional love that I needed as a young girl. She showed me a way of being, she deeply listened to me while supporting me through troubled times - so powerfully simple, often difficult to achieve and the most precious gift. She always fills my heart. I would do anything for her, as she did for me. I am eternally grateful to her and I would say, “I love you La, from the depths of my being”.
During her last days of life, she lay quietly, barely moving in her bed with her eyes closed all the time. She could not speak, she could not see me and yet, she sensed I was there. On the day of my departure, I visited her for my last time. I stroked her face, I sang to her, I spoke with her, I thanked her for being who she was for me and I cried with her. She heard and sensed me.
My last words to her were, “I love you La”. She squeezed my hand.