Butterflies
Sometimes life's funny
...sometimes it hurts
You love your friends
...and don't
Will someone love you?
You've got hopes and dreams
But is your world is crashing?
'Butterflies' celebrates the fighter in all of us
- Butterflies I must say it is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.
- ur book was fantastic i loved it i finished it in 3 days i just couldnt put it down.....
- suzanne, before reading butterflies i thought the only way to be pretty was to be perfect, the hair the face the looks, but it's not true, i read butterflies in 3 days, i couldn't put it down, it made me really feel good about myself ... It's was one of the best books i have ever read, thankyou for giving me a masterpiece to read.
- hi susanne, i just want to say how wonderfuly compelling your novel, butterflies is.
- I would just like to say that you have a truely beautiful writing style.
Comments from Readers
- First chapter of Butterflies
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- Fan Mail for Butterflies
- Reading notes for Butterflies
Kim Phuc and Butterflies
'Butterflies' is written for all of us, so that when we face the challenges of life, whatever they are, we know we can make it and be all we can be.
'Butterflies' was my response to a request by a young burn survivor. I spent six challenging months researching and interviewing survivors, families, medical teams to reach into their experiences. Then I wrote 'Butterflies' which is now internationally recognized as Outstanding Youth Literature on Disability (IBBY). Endorsed by the Children's Hospital Sydney and Dr Hugh Martin Head of the Burn Unit:
Like tempering steel, the process of passing through the fire helps make a person of exceptional quality. 'Butterflies' captures these subtleties for the reader, and gives a stunning insight into a difficult topic.
I was honoured to speak at the World Burn Congress in New York, invited by The New York Firefighters, New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, Weill Cornell Medical College and Phoenix Society for burn survivors.
It was one of the great moments of my life.
Addressing an audience of survivors, medical teams, family and community was painfully confronting. I am a confident speaker who has spoken at major conferences and festivals throughout the world, but I was nervous. How could I address this audience? What if 'Butterflies' did not capture their journeys?
After my talk, a line of people wound around the room with 'Butterflies' to sign. They wanted to touch and connect with me. Then there was the pivotal moment when a girl with facial reconstruction said to me:
'I'm 15, nearly 16' with her softly spoken voice and we touched hands, nothing more had to be said. It was deeply emotional - she wanted to know there was a future for her, and there is.
I was privileged to be part of the faculty with Kim Phuc.
On June 8, 1972, Kim Phuc's village of Trang Bang came under attack by South Vietnamese planes that mistakenly dropped napalm on a Buddhist pagoda in an area that the North Vietnamese were infiltrating. As the villagers ran, children died, but Kim escaped screaming, badly burned by napalm. Nick Ut's Pulitzer Prize winning photo captured her escape and his photo became the symbol of the civilian tragedy of war.
Kim's keynote was inspiring as she related her courageous journey through burns and life to forgive the bombers and use her life to bring healing and peace. She is the UNESCO Ambassador for Peace and has established the Kim Phuc Foundation for the child survivors of war. (www.kimfoundation.com)
Susanne speaking at the World Burn Congress New York