Educated at Concordia University, and the University of Toronto, Susan Doherty worked at Maclean's Magazine, and the International Herald Tribune and ran her own advertising production company for 20 years. Her debut novel, A Secret Music, was published in 2015. Research for her book led her to the Douglas Hospital, the psychiatric teaching arm of McGill University, and fourteen extraordinary years as a volunteer with people suffering from extreme psychosis. The Ghost Garden, award-winning non-fiction, is the culmination of her work in the excavation of mental illness. Monday Rent Boy, which debuted 2024, is an exploration of child abuse and the perils of pornography on the DarkWeb. All of Susan’s work is an examination of children who experienced adversity in childhood and how they gain resilience.
She is passionate about childhood trauma, and finding health and happiness in adulthood. Susan's affiliations include the YMCA, the Douglas Institute, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Quebec Writers Federation, and Nazareth House, a shelter for the homeless and addicted. She divides her time between Montreal Quebec, and Kennebunkport, Maine. She is married to educator, Hal Hannaford.
