7 minute read
Susan Wilking Horan
& The Iconic Animated Trailblazer BETTY BOOP
Words By Bec Doyle | March 16 2021
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I had the pleasure of speaking with a truly inspirational woman, Susan Wilking Horan, to discuss her latest book, “Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life: Fun Fierce Fabulous Advice Inspired by the Animated Icon.” Susan is a businesswoman, attorney, wellness advocate, author, and threetime cancer survivor. Yes, you read that right! And much like the infamous Betty Boop, with whom Susan shares a deep connection, Susan has courageously used her own harrowing experience and wellness journey to empower others. In Susan’s words: “Strong women lift each other up.”
Susan explains it wasn’t long after she began practicing as an attorney that she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Susan says she was athletic, young, slim, a vegetarian and a non-smoker, but began to experience symptoms that she couldn’t make sense of. After the first Doctor laughed and dismissed her concerns, she seeked out a second opinion. “I went to another doctor because my intuition told me... I knew something was wrong,” she says. And unfortunately, after the appropriate testing, she was right. Susan credits this moment as the beginning of her journey as a wellness advocate, “that was a cancer that was totally unexpected and I was completely unprepared for… a cancer which usually strikes people in their 60’s or 70’s.” After extensive and tireless research Susan discovered this particular cancer ran in her family. “So I started learning all of these different things about cancer. How one of the greatest risk factors is heredity. As I started to speak to groups, and talk to people and get involved as a motivational speaker, either people wanted to know how to prevent cancer, or forthose who had it, about treatment and survival.” This inspired Susan to write her first book “The Single Source Cancer Course”, which was broken down into two volumes. She explains the goal of writing these books was to try and get all the information that anyone diagnosed with cancer could ever possibly want, in one place. “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you do not have time. You don’t have time to do a lot of research. You need to know what to do, you need to have a plan. So that was my goal, to offer all the information that I knew I ever wanted to get, in one place.”
After beating colon cancer, Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer, and although it did not run in her family she was at greater risk of developing breast cancer due to a condition called fibrosis. “Women with that kind of breast tissue are more susceptible to not only developing breast cancer, but it’s also more difficult to diagnose. It’s important for women with this type of breast tissue to not only get a mammogram, but to also get an ultrasound,” she explains. Since overcoming breast cancer Susan has also been diagnosed with different types of skin cancer, but fortunately adds that none have been life threatening. “The really hopeful thing that everyone should understand about cancer is that early detection is key. So it’s so important to be proactive. If you know a certain cancer runs in your family, get the tests that you need, and know how often you need to be reevaluated.” With her tremendous amount of personal experience and knowledge, it was obvious for her to share all she had learned. Susan reflectively quotes the famous ancient Chinese proverb “To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.”
Susan explains that over the years she has learned there is so much more to wellness than focusing on cancer, disease, treatment or surgeries. “There are so many different disciplines and things that we can do to help ourselves stay healthy. Eating right, eastern philosophies, meditation, imagery. One of the greatest things I’ve learned also is humor!”, she says with a laugh. “Humor and positivity are so important!” And Susan is blessed to be connected to the ultimate icon of female empowerment and positivity, Betty Boop. Susan and her husband Mark Fleischer run Fleischer Studios. Max Fleischer, Mark’s grandfather, started Fleischer Studios and was the pioneering animator who created beloved characters such as PopEye and Betty Boop in the 1930’s. Today Fleischer Studios focuses on the licensing and merchandising of their beloved characters, which led to the inception of Susan’s latest book “Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life: Fun Fierce Fabulous Advice Inspired by the Animated Icon”. And what an Icon Betty Boop was, and remains to this day.
Betty Boops Guide To A Bold & Balanced Life
Taking classic themes from the original Betty Boop cartoons, Susan and her co-writer Kristi Ling Spencer thought it would be a fabulous idea to take some of the life lessons from Betty’s cartoons and incorporate each of those life lessons into a chapter. “We had to whittle it down, so we whittled it down to 10 chapters; independence, love, kindness, accentuating the positive, cultivating courage, because Betty’s always so courageous through her cartoons, humor, health, respect and going in style, because of course Betty is a style icon!” The book is also packed with lots of scientific studies and quotes from various empowering women such as Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, even pop culture icons like Katy Perry. Susan explains how they wanted the book to be helpful and useful as well as inspiring for women of all ages.
Susan and her co-writer had no idea what was ahead when they released the book in early 2020, but there is something awfully kismet that at a time of immense pain, tragedy and struggle in the world, Betty reemerged with her same profound message and values.
Susan explains. Historically speaking Betty was the original feminist, a trail blazer and an inspiration. Created in 1930 by Max Fleischer, she was a product of ‘The Great Depression’, and a symbol of positivity and hope. “In every cartoon, through it all, she remained positive, sassy and independent and just full of life, always looking on the bright side of everything. That is why she has survived nearly 100 years and is still so popular today, because of that fabulous inspiring positive attitude, so I wanted to write a book that reflected that,” Susan says.
Betty was indeed a trailblazer, being the first woman, real life or cartoon character, to attempt many feats, including running for president! In the 1934 cartoon ‘Betty Boop for President’, Betty runs on the motto ‘Don’t Be A Poop, Vote For Boop’, and wins! “This was long before any woman, cartoon character or real life, ever did.. She was such a trailblazer that she was also one of the first, again real life or animated characters, to stand up for animal rights,” Susan proudly exclaims. Susan goes on to detail the cartoon “Be Human” in which Betty stands up to a horrible bully who was mistreating his animals. Adding, “This was around 1935 when people were not thinking in those terms, and she was! In another cartoon Betty is into recycling and repurposing. So there were all these wonderful themes.” One thing Betty is most certainly known for is her fearless signature style, so it made perfect sense for long time Betty Boop fan and renowned fashion designer Zac Posen, to write the foreword. “When he was a kid he grew up watching Betty Boop, he absolutely loved the Betty Boop cartoons,” Susan explains. Zac Posen also facilitated Betty’s appearance on Project Runway as a guest judge in 2018. Betty truly has done it all.
Betty Boop is an iconic role model for women and humanity, if there ever was one, and we have Susan to thank for this incredibly special book, that so simply demonstrates the most important, yet basic of human values in fun and clever ways, and allows Betty’s message to live on.
After speaking with Susan; hearing her journey; her positive outlook on life; discussing the new book and how she is personally inspired by Betty Boop, it is clear the world would be a better place if we were all a little more like Betty.
