Susan Spencer-Wendel & Living with Joy!


Palm Beach Post Reporter, Susan Spencer-Wendel (@SpenWen) was one of the first people I followed on Twitter. Her very first tweet in the beginning of 2009 was like many people’s first tweets, trying to figure out what this twitter thing was all about.

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Not only did @SpenWen figure out how to use twitter, but when she logged in, she owned it. As one of the first reporters able to live-tweet directly from the courthouse, @SpenWen nimble fingers would craft perfectly written 140-character-long tweets and send them out onto the internet at an unbelievably fast clip. She covered the notorious Dippolito murder-for-hire case, Casey Anthony, and many others.

During those days productivity came to a standstill and I found myself sitting in front of the computer waiting for the next update from the courthouse across the street.

Then, in July 2011, the updates stopped. A Palm Beach Post column in May informed all the readers that Susan had been diagnosed with ALS and began a remarkable new journey, one of showing her friends and family how to live, and die, with joy.

In the year that followed, Susan chose to create new memories with her children and family, travelling, watching shuttle launches, kissing dolphins, and an unexpected trip to a local private farm. Using her thumb, she tapped out a book that beautifully details her journey.

Until I Say Good-bye, My Year of Living with Joy just arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I look forward to tearing into it. The book is #1 in Journalist Biographies and #7 on Amazon’s best seller list.

Susan will be doing a book-signing at Barnes and Nobles in Cityplace on Saturday the 16th at 3pm. I invite you to come out and meet this remarkable woman.

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Get the book, read it, then come out with Susan and all her friends to walk on March 23rd to raise money to cure ALS!