Susan Sheehan

Susan Sheehan
Born
Susanna Maria Sachsel

(1937-08-24)August 24, 1937
Vienna, Austria
DiedFebruary 17, 2026(2026-02-17) (aged 88)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse(s)
Forrest Black II
​
​
(m. 1959, divorced)​

​
​
(m. 1965; died 2021)​
Children2
Writing career
Notable workIs There No Place on Earth for Me?
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (1983)

Susanna Maria Sheehan (née Sachsel; August 24, 1937 – February 17, 2026) was an American writer.

Life and career

Born in Vienna, Austria, on August 24, 1937, she won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for her book Is There No Place on Earth for Me? The book details the experiences of a young New York City woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. Portions of the book were published in The New Yorker, where she was a frequent contributor. Her work as a contributing writer also appeared in The New York Times and Architectural Digest.

In 1986, Sheehan published in The New Yorker "A Missing Plane," a three-part series about the U.S. Army's attempt to identify the remains of the victims of a 1944 airplane crash.

Her husband was the journalist Neil Sheehan, whom she urged to copy what became known as the Pentagon Papers for the Times with her help, and who also won a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam in 1989. The two lived in Washington, D.C. until his death in 2021.

She died in Washington, DC, on February 17, 2026, at the age of 88.

Works

Her other works include:

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gabriel, Trip (February 22, 2026). "Susan Sheehan, Chronicler of Lives on the Margins, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C. (1999). "Profiles of the winners: General nonfiction". Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 268–269. ISBN 1-57356-111-8.
  3. 1 2 "Pulitzer Prize Winners: General Nonfiction". The Pulitzer Prizes -- Columbia University. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  4. 1 2 "Susan Sheehan Books, Author Bio, Book Review & More at Alibris Marketplace". Alibris. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Lax, BY Eric (1986-10-19). "A CLOUD WITH A ROCK IN IT". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
  6. ↑ Sanger, David E.; Scott, Janny; Harlan, Jennifer; Gallagher, Brian (June 9, 2021). "'We're Going to Publish': An Oral History of the Pentagon Papers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2023.