Susan Straight
A writer who maps the complex, multicultural heart of California, giving voice to the lives often left out of its sun-drenched myth.
Born 1960 (age 66)·American writer·Birthday: October 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Susan Straight was born in Riverside, California, and has spent her entire life writing from and about the Inland Empire, a region she has transformed into a rich literary territory. Her fiction and memoirs are rooted in the stories of the working-class families, immigrants, and people of color who form the backbone of her community. Straight's prose is known for its muscular lyricism and deep empathy, drawing from the oral histories of her own multiracial family and neighbors. While her 2001 novel 'Highwire Moon' brought her to national attention as a National Book Award finalist, her sustained body of work—including the memoir 'In the Country of Women'—has built a lasting portrait of American life that challenges simplistic narratives of place and identity. She is a writer's writer, dedicated to the craft and to a specific patch of ground, teaching creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and proving that the most universal stories come from staying put and paying close attention.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Susan was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Susan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Susan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 40
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 50
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 60
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 66 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Was a finalist for the National Book Award for her novel 'Highwire Moon' in 2001.
- Authored the memoir 'In the Country of Women,' a family history that was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- Received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Lannan Literary Award for her contributions to fiction.
- Has served as a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside for decades.
Did You Know?
She has lived in the same house in Riverside, California, since she was a child.
All of her novels are set in the fictional version of Riverside she calls 'Rio Seco.'
She is the mother of three daughters and often writes about the experience of motherhood.
Her writing is frequently inspired by the stories told to her by her Swiss mother-in-law and her own family's history.
“I write about the people I know, the people I grew up with, the people I love.”
