Listening for Grace

September 2026 Issue

By Tamela Maxim
Photography provided by Susan Beckham Zurenda

In contemporary Southern literature, few writers feel as attuned to the emotional undercurrents of human experience as Susan Beckham SusanZurenda. A retired English teacher turned award-winning novelist, Susan writes with the sensitivity of someone who has spent decades observing people closely, listening deeply, and believing in the transformative power of story. Her fiction—rooted in trauma, resilience, and the moral complexities of Southern life—has earned her multiple IPPY Gold Medals, Pushcart Prize nominations, and the Patricia Winn Award in Southern Fiction.

Her newest novel, No Way Out but Through, is shaped by a real woman’s harrowing childhood and Susan’s commitment to telling stories that matter. It is a book about survival, connection, and the courage required to speak one’s truth.

Empathy at the Center
Susan’s approach to character begins with empathy. “To the best of my ability, I try to feel what my characters feel and channel their sensibilities through written words,” she said. That sensitivity guided her through weeks of Zoom interviews with the woman whose life inspired Grace, the protagonist of No Way Out but Through. Susan admits she came to the story reluctantly. At a book event, an older woman urged her to meet a young employee whose story “must be told.” She tried to sidestep the request, but the follow-up came, and she soon found herself sitting across from Grace, who handed her a tightly rolled marriage license showing she had been wed at 15 years old to a man ten years older.

“Her hand was shaking a little,” Susan recalled. She sensed in Grace “the presence of courage and heart and grit,” and once she heard the full story, she knew it needed to be written.

The Power of Storytelling
No Way Out but Through explores how sharing one’s truth can become a lifeline. “Stories are data with emotions attached,” Susan said. Grace and Shannon, the novel’s central characters, discover that revealing their untold stories becomes an act of survival and transformation.

Writing the book was not simple. Susan initially thought the real chronology would provide a ready-made plot, but she quickly learned otherwise. And she explained how the ending brought joy. “I had all these positive emotions flowing as I wrote the novel’s climax and the final chapter.”

A Teacher’s Eye for Humanity
Susan Zurenda’s second novel The Girl from the Red Rose Motel grew from her years teaching AP English and Reading Strategies. The stark contrast between privileged students and those struggling to read well enough to graduate inspired the characters Sterling Lovell and Hazel Smalls—two teens from opposite worlds whose unlikely connection drives the narrative. Susan wanted to place these opposites together and see what unfolded. The result is a novel that examines homelessness, poverty, and the fragile relationship between teens and the adults who try to help them.

Rooted in the South
As a lifelong Southerner, Susan believes outsiders often misunderstand the region’s emphasis on connection, manners, and tradition. She feels a responsibility to portray the South with nuance rather than stereotype. “Traditional Southerners tend to still lean on our culture’s mores and protocol,” she said. “What we affectionately refer to as ‘Southern charm’ to me means kindness and respect.”

Bells for Eli: Memory and Healing
Her debut novel Bells for Eli draws from a childhood tragedy involving her cousin Danny, who accidentally drank Red Devil Lye as a young child. “The beginning of the novel and the end of the novel are based on the real experiences of my first cousin,” she explained. The middle is imagined, allowing her to explore how trauma radiates outward, shaping not only the victim but everyone around him. Writing the book helped her come to terms with Danny’s troubled life.

A Redirected Life
Susan’s writing is intuitive; she follows her characters’ voices, even when they surprise her or test her empathy. She writes at night, when the world quiets and her inner critic fades. Though she began college as a piano major, a Southern Literature course—O’Connor, Porter, Welty, McCullers—redirected her life toward fiction. She urges aspiring writers to create because they must, to enjoy the act itself, and to accept that publication requires persistence and connection.

A Novel That Lingers
No Way Out but Through is Susan Zurenda at her finest—clear-eyed, compassionate, and unafraid to explore the darkest corners of the human experience. Grace’s story is rendered with the emotional precision that has become Susan’s signature. I found myself deeply moved by Grace’s courage and the quiet, powerful bond she and Shannon form. This is a novel that lingers—one that reminds us how essential it is to be heard, and how transformative it can be to finally speak.

Four Fun Facts About Susan Beckham Zurenda

1. Susan taught piano lessons in high school—earning triple
what her friends’ made waitressing at Pizza Hut.

2. She writes at night but wishes she wrote during the day.

3. She once heard Author Eudora Welty read aloud,
and it is one of the highlights of her literary life.

4. Susan’s books have rekindled readers’ love of reading, including a high school friend who hadn’t read a
novel in twenty years until Bells for Eli.

Be among the first to experience this powerful new novel and meet Susan Beckham Zurenda. Join us for an unforgettable evening Wednesday, September 9th at Celeste Coastal Cuisine. For more details, see below.