Susan Doherty’s Bio

Susan holds a Bachelor of Science from Concordia University and studied journalism at Ryerson University, where she was recommended for a position at Macleans Magazine. After her time at Macleans, she worked in Paris for Atex France, a digital publishing company, while freelancing for prestigious publications such as The International Herald Tribune, La Tribune de Genève, La Suisse, and London's The Independent.

Upon returning to Canada, Susan founded her own company, On Location Productions, where she spent 18 years working in advertising. During this time, she pursued creative writing at the University of Toronto and Concordia University, and was mentored by acclaimed author Sandra Birdsell through the Humber School for Writers. She also took courses with notable Canadian writers such as Ray Robertson, Giles Blunt, and Claire Holden Rothman, and was selected to attend the Sage Hill Writing Residency in Saskatchewan.

Susan has dedicated herself to various volunteer roles, including with the YMCA and the Douglas Institute, and she served on the board of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Additionally, she was a board member of the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) in Montreal and Nazareth Community, an organization supporting individuals with addictions and mental illness. Her volunteer work extends to assisting patients with psychosis at Montreal’s Douglas Institute, where she has conducted extensive research on bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.

In Toronto, Susan spearheaded an annual event for the Royal Conservatory of Music, aimed at raising their endowment to support aspiring Canadian musicians through full bursaries.

Susan presented at the 2013 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) conference in Philadelphia, attended by school leaders across North America. She is an active member of the QWF and has participated in improv storytelling for Montreal’s Confabulation. She also teaches spinning classes at the Westmount YMCA. She has also presented keynotes at the IBSC, (International Boys” School Coalition) in 2019 in Montreal and 2024 in London, UK.

At the Douglas Institute, Susan combines her passion for creative writing and art therapy to help patients with psychotic disorders.

Her second book is a biography about an Ottawa woman’s lifelong struggle with schizophrenia, detailing her experiences with motherhood, medication, shock therapy, incarceration, and the evolving treatment of mental illness. Susan’s hands-on experience at the Douglas Institute has been crucial in her understanding of psychotic behavior, noting that no reliable biological marker for schizophrenia or any mental illness has yet been found—it remains an observed condition.

Her book The Ghost Garden was published by Random House of Canada on May 13, 2019, and its French translation, Jardin des Fantômes, was released by Éditions de l’Homme on September 23, 2019.

Susan’s latest book, Monday Rent Boy, debuted in March 2024. The novel explores the lives of two teenage boys abused by the same man and examines the long-term impact of sexual abuse. With themes of boyhood friendship, secrets, temptation, and the duality of good and evil, the book delves into the struggle for resilience in the aftermath of trauma. How does a boy grow up when an adverse childhood threatens future happiness?

Susan’s passions include music, live theatre, exercise, the Westmount Public Library, Mount Royal, Chopin, cardinals, angels, the Atlantic Ocean, Snow White’s Path, and New York City. Above all, she cherishes her family and friends, quoting, “We’ll be friends forever, won’t we, Pooh?” asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered.

Her guiding principle: Be kind.