BoomerGirl Diary

Susan Kraus is a therapist, mediator and advice columnist ... and a wife and mom ... and a travel writer. Bottom line is that she has a relentless curiosity, persistent optimism, and a hard time saying “no” whether to people, projects, trips or challenges (like writing two columns!) She freely admits she needs to “work on her boundaries” but is waiting for retirement when she hopes to have more time. So, until she settles down into one life, here are her dual biographies.

Travel:
Susan has had a thing for travel since age 15 when her parents let her and best friend, Barbara, take the Greyhound bus from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. for 5 days in 1965. That taste of freedom, the bliss of a Howard Johnson room with a T.V. and balcony, monuments and museums and restaurants at her feet (albeit with an 8 p.m. curfew and nightly check-in with the parents), was the seed of her lust for exploration. She followed up D.C. with 3 months in El Salvador as an exchange student, Paris as an au pair, and a summer alone trekking Europe with a backpack and rail pass at age 23. Then she got stuck in real life, finished graduate school, worked, got married, had kids, raised kids, kept working... all the time using any excuse for a road trip. Since ’94, Susan has published articles on family travel in newspapers and magazines, did a regional travel column for three years for the K.C. Star, wrote a book, "A Game Day Guide to Towns of the Big 12," and, more recently, branched into international travel. She has a particular interest in women traveling and the psychology of travel. Susan is a member of S.A.T.W. (Society of American Travel Writers), and, in exemplary Boomer fashion, is now plotting a lengthy retirement where she will travel the world and get paid to write about it.

Advice:
Susan Kraus, M.S.W., L.S.C.S.W., has been a therapist for 28 years and a mediator for over 10 years. She taught at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare for over a decade. In her early years, she worked as a waitress, nursing home aide and teacher. She has written previous advice columns for women, and published in Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, and other magazines for women. Susan has multiple degrees, along with post-graduate training in marriage and family therapy. However, it is her life experience, combined with an ability to be pragmatic and balanced, that make her good at providing guidance and "directions." She’s been married for 27 years, has two kids, and believes that being a mom is a lot harder job than being a therapist. She also believes that a satisfying life requires taking risks, that waiting until you’re not afraid is too long to wait for change, and that most people are a lot stronger and more capable than they can imagine.
For more info on Susan’s mediation and therapy practice, go to www.mediationmakessense.com.