By Emma Conlon ’25
I had the opportunity to interview Susan Richardson, a former Beverly High School special education teacher who recently published her book, Ralph By Himself. Her story inspires me along with many others, and her work to make people struggling with sensory and other developmental disabilities has not gone unnoticed.
Q: What is your book about?
A: It’s a story of an elf who struggles with sensory issues and the hustle and bustle in Santa’s workshop during the Christmas season. It isn’t until Santa reads letters from children that he realizes that the workshop isn’t a good fit for Ralph. Santa needs to make accommodations for Ralph in order for him to be successful.
Q: What was your inspiration for this book?
A: As a recently retired special education teacher I had many students that I could look back on who, like Ralph, struggled with not only sensory issues, but also ADHD, autism, testing anxiety, and depression. I thought, what better way to continue teaching, than through storytelling. There was one particular student that I had who was on the Autism spectrum and who struggled to get a job interview. He applied to hundreds of jobs, yet he could not get an interview. His frustration grew. This student also struggled with testing anxiety as well as Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD. Although he was probably one of the smartest students I have ever worked with, he struggled to take the MCAS exam. The room that he was assigned to for testing was too small and too crowded. I was called down to the room to help calm him down. Once I saw his testing environment, I knew this was not a good fit for him. I took him to my room where he was allowed to finish the test in peace and quiet. He ended up acing the test and was awarded the John and Abigail Adams scholarship. He did not accept it, and instead chose to go to Trinity College in Ireland. I was so proud of him. He became my inspiration for Ralph by Himself.
Q: What impression or impact are you hoping Ralph By Himself leaves on readers?
A: … I also got some impactful statements from the general public, including this one from Beth F-S ~ “I got this book today, I saw it at Parcels, and I know the illustrator so I just picked it up. After I read it I was so glad I did!! My daughter struggles with the same things Ralph struggles with. Thank you Susan, my daughter is 8 and cried when she read it, she said the character Joan was just like her.”
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring or young authors?
A: …write what you know, you are the expert. Build characters that are relatable to the public and know that it doesn’t just stop once it goes into print. It takes a ton of marketing to get your book read. There are thousands of books written and self-published on a daily basis. You need to hit the ground running in order to get it off the bookshelf and into the hands of your readers. Be creative and believe in yourself. It will only happen if you pour your heart and soul into it. You have to nurture your main character so that they become the best that they can be.
Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: Truthfully, I never really thought of myself as a writer until my mother passed away. I had two young sons at the time of her death, and we lived with her and took care of her healthcare needs everyday. I didn’t know how to explain her death to them. I mean, how much can a one- and three-year-old really understand? It wasn’t until I realized that my three-year-old showed signs of depression that I needed help. His pediatrician asked if there were any sudden changes in his life and I explained how we took care of his grandmother on a daily basis and she finally passed away. It was through his suggestion that I wrote a story about him and my mother and how he was a great help to her in her time of need but now it was God’s turn to take care of her. My illustrations were pretty pathetic but he got the picture. He finally understood that she was no longer in pain and that she was in good hands and being taken care of. We all healed after that.
Q: How long did it take you to write this book?
A: When I think of how long it took to write Ralph by Himself, I’d have to say probably two years from start to finish. I had many people read it over time and again and there was always something that could be better. I made a few attempts to find one of the big publishers to take a look, but that is so challenging. I was told by many that rhyming books are very tough to sell so they typically pass on them. I finally reached out to a friend, Dan Egan from Degan Publishing, who helped me get it edited and formatted, and ready to send to a distributor, Ingramspark. Ingramspark will do all the printing and distributing for me and make it available for Amazon and local bookstores. I’m grateful for his expertise. I probably wouldn’t have published Ralph if it wasn’t for him.
Q: What was your greatest struggle you found in writing Ralph By Himself?
A: My biggest struggle was illustrating the book. I consider myself an artist in the grand scheme of things but drawing people was not my forte. I started looking for local artists on Facebook. I came across Judi Jorge, who was posting paintings of Santa. I loved her old-fashioned vision of how I remembered Santa as a child. Maybe she’d be interested, I thought. I reached out to her and we met at Panera to discuss collaborating on this project. It was through this discussion that I realized that she also worked with special education students in Danvers. She knew exactly what I was trying to describe as she too knew students with sensory issues. We both agreed that this story needed both of our input. Her illustrations are beautiful and I’m so glad we found each other.
Q: What was the most surprising thing you learned while in the process of creating this book?
A: Consequently, the most surprising thing that I learned while being in the process of creating this book was that I’m not really retired. I’m still teaching through my art. I’m glad I have moved on and love this new chapter. The people I’m connecting with are all so awesome. I feel free and ready to finally finish my memoir. Stay tuned.
Ralph by Himself is now available to purchase at susanrichardson.net as well as Amazon, the Bookshop in Beverly Farms, the gift shop at Long Hill in Beverly, and at Parcels in Liberty Tree Mall and soon other major bookstores.
