From My Front Row Seat: A Collection of Stories from My Time Working Alongside Women in Recovery

With no fear of taking risks, Susan Binkley embarked on a difficult spiritual journey that started with nothing but a powerful dream one night in 1995 - a dream she had clearly intercepted, which was surely intended for someone else. After all, the dream was about helping women and children, and Susan did not particularly care for either. Shortly after, however, she found herself on an unexpected journey that completely changed her life and heart.

In 2003, through blind faith and profound determination, Susan founded Blue Monarch, a Christian residential recovery program for women and their children overcoming abuse and addiction, which made her dream remarkably prophetic. As a professional artist and seasoned entrepreneur, with no education or experience in social work, Susan used her creativity and out-of-the-box problem solving to develop one of the most unique and effective long-term recovery programs in the country. Susan often says, “Why settle for ordinary if you can have extraordinary?”

From My Front Row Seat is a collection of popular blog posts, where Susan weaves an intricate tapestry of candid Blue Monarch life, as seen through her eyes, combined with her own colorful lifetime experiences. Her voice is raw and authentic with a thread of humor just around the corner.

Susan’s stories are filled with complicated realities of recovery, tragedies of generational abuse and addiction, honest struggles of leadership, tremendous power of prayer, and beautiful illustrations of a God who heals. The reader will get to know the courageous women and precious children of Blue Monarch and will walk away reminded that miracles are still very real, and that God uses ordinary and even reluctant people to make them happen.

Susan Binkley grew up in Tennessee and received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee. In addition to working as a professional artist, she owned and operated a horse farm and boarding operation, developed unique vacation rentals, created a bakery/café, and established a granola manufacturing business. In 2003 Binkley founded Blue Monarch, a non-profit, long-term residential recovery program for women and their children. Awards include Women in American History Award from Daughters of the American Revolution, TIAA Difference Maker, and an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of the South. Susan lives with her husband, Clay, on the Cumberland Plateau overlooking a state park.