No Ordinary Days: A journey of activism, globe-trotting and unexpected pleasures

A first generation Jewish-American daughter of joyful parents who survived the Holocaust, Susan Sygall was an athletic young woman about to start her life in college surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. A car accident changed her plans, but not her course, to lead a passionate and riveting life. From traveling through Southeast Asia on local buses to hitchhiking through New Zealand (yes, all in her wheelchair), Susan’s story is filled with moments of both pleasure and pain. Laughing, crying and rethinking what we do when life presents unexpected barriers, we journey with her around the world and through a realm of deep-felt human emotions, philosophical insights, and a life a social activism. Susan's unique philosophy on life, her “chutzpah”, and her life-affirming journey offer a page-turning experience of redefining how we see ourselves, see others, and live our own lives. “Loud, Proud and Passionate” becomes the battle-cry of women who have decided to create, through their own imagination, who they are and who they can be. Susan Sygall, a MacArthur fellow, shares with us the intimate details of her unconventional path.