4/11/12 | Suzzan's Autobiography "The Rebirth of Suzzan Blac" is now available!

Suzzan's autobiography, The Rebirth of Suzzan Blac, is now available through Bettie Youngs Books. You can order the book now, by going here.

3/27/12 | Suzzan's Autobiography "The Rebirth of Suzzan Blac" coming soon!

Suzzan has been kind of quiet on the painting front lately, but that's only because she's been busy working on something else exciting: her autobiography!

Suzzan is putting the final touches on The Rebirth of Suzzan Blac, to be released through Bettie Youngs Books. There is no official release date yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Childhood is a time of sweet innocence and dreamlike wonder—but not for acclaimed artist Suzzan Blac. Her early years were the stuff of the darkest nightmares: abject poverty, cruel punishment, and spirit-crushing emotional abuse. The monster in her house was hardly imaginary, but her very real mother. Repeated sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather only made things worse. In her tough urban neighborhood in Birmingham, England, even school did not offer a safe haven—merely institutionalized mayhem.

The only solace and release for Suzzan was in the artwork that allowed her to express her anguish and pain: drawings of surreal creatures crying red tears. "Art was a friend that understood and comforted me; I could always lose myself in the images I produced," she wrote. But the intensity of her drawings was too stark for those around her and so she suppressed her expression and drew what people wanted to see—then stopped altogether.

Adolescence brought a harrowing coercion into the unseemly world of the sex slave business, where she was held hostage and brutalized. Although she escaped physically, she remained a mental prisoner, spiraling into clinical depression, self-loathing and substance abuse. Eventually, marriage to a caring man brought her life's greatest joy—two children, and suddenly she discovered the true power of a mother's unconditional love.

Therapy helped her continue on the path to healing, yet the pain and anger from her past still festered deep inside. The only way to exorcize her demons, she realized, was to resurrect her childhood through art. And so she began to paint—42 stunning, graphic pieces, done over four years, capturing the raw, unvarnished truth of a child used and terrorized by those who were supposed to protect her. It would be a decade before she could summon the courage to show the artwork to anyone. When she did, she realized that bringing the paintings to light was her calling: By viscerally revealing the atrocities against children every day, she enables them to speak up and seek help, and encourages adult survivors to bring their own monsters out of the closet and into the open.

This is truly a story of inspiration—of freedom, truth and victory.

4/30/2010 | A Message from Suzzan

'A COLLABORATION OF EMPOWERMENT'

"I am so overwhelmed regarding the collaboration of Claudia Lifland and myself. This is what I have dreamed of all of my life! She had the wisdom to realize my experience, insight, and art can contribute greatly to the whole spectrum of abuse, therapy, understanding and social work.

Both Claudia and other colleagues are to utilize my work into both a teaching program and as part of a therapy course. Both Claudia and I know that this is just the beginning of an empowerment that will affect not just the understanding of the whole field of abuse, but will help and inspire victims and survivors.

I have been silent and suppressed far too long and thanks to Claudia's comprehension, perception, and belief in my work, she has opened the 'castle drawbridge,' the barrier of professional dismissive attitudes that have for so long been impenetrable to me. No, I don't possess 'paper' qualifications; I possess the ultimate experiences, insight, and the ability to overcome the atrocities of abuse in all its malignant forms!"

"VERITAS VOS LIBERABIT" ... "THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE"

Here's a short professional bio of Claudia:

Claudia Lifland is a licensed psychotherapist and educator practicing in South Florida, US. She has been in the field of social services since 1997, originally working with pre-school children and their families in Miami's poorest neighborhoods. After completing her Master's in Social Work from Barry University, Claudia began to practice individual, family and group therapy with adolescents with substance abuse, delinquency and mental health issues. She also has experience working with adults with major mental illness and substance abuse in a variety of settings including a state-funded psychiatric hospital, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program and community-based outreach services. With a passion for guiding and inspiring future social workers, Claudia teaches as an adjunct professor at Barry University School of Social Work graduate program and as a field instructor for Florida Atlantic University. Currently, Claudia works as a social worker on a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Crisis Stabilization Unit and an inpatient medical detox unit at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida.

4/26/2010 | New "WORDS" Section Added

A new section was added to the website, where all of Suzzan's essays and poetry will eventually be posted.

4/19/2010 | New Interview Posted

A new interview with Suzzan is posted in the Press section (click here). The interview was done with Justin Burning, the webmaster of this very site.

4/15/2010 | All Work Uploaded

All of Suzzan's work should now be uploaded to the site and available for viewing!

4/13/2010 | Official Website Goes Live

Today, Suzzan's official website (www.suzzanb.com) went live. Please feel free to contact Suzzan and let her know what you think.