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Awful poverty in a polygamous family--these words describe well the condition in which I first became aware of my existence in the remote countryside of South-Eastern Togo, West Africa, where I was born. Traditional animism, worship of and belief in many spirits, nurtured my heathen early education.

I grew up in Minnesota, attended high school in Missouri and college in Iowa. After college, I took steps to align my first career decisions with my growing understanding of God. I felt it would be simpler and more efficient to let God lead those first few steps.

When I was 21 I found myself in desperate straits. I was practically failing college, was addicted to drugs, in a bad marriage, alienated from any family and was on the verge of a serious mental breakdown. At that time, suicide seemed the only answer.

In the early 1990s I was healed quickly and decisively in Christian Science of a physical condition that had come to seem completely hopeless to me.  I had grown up as a Christian Scientist, and had seen many healings in my family of seven, so I knew the effectiveness of Christian Science prayer.

Growing up with the stories of the healings that had brought my family into Christian Science – a great uncle healed of polio, my mother and aunt healed of leukemia – it seemed entirely natural to me, as a second-grader, to agree to pray for a sobbing playmate who asked me to do so after she tumbled off a swing-set. The fact that she quickly returned to play seemed equally natural.

Although I was raised in Christian Science, in a sense I feel that Christian Science raised me. The teachings of the Bible, the mission of our Master, Christ Jesus, and the revealed message of spiritual truth explained in the writings of Mary Baker Eddy provided a natural pathway of learning and purpose early in my life.

I grew up with parents who loved and practiced Christian Science, and I experienced consistent and decisive healings as a kid and teen. After my daughter was born, and while still in the hospital, I was instantly healed of an extremely high and life-threatening fever, much to the amazement of the medical staff.  Even so, a few years later, while going through some really tough times, I stepped away from Christian Science. This wasn’t a bad thing, though, because it was during this time that I did some deep soul-searching and honest questioning which developed into more appreciation for God and what God is. That spiritual curiosity led to satisfying answers and continues to this day. More committed than ever to practicing spiritual healing, I started receiving calls from friends and family who were seeking healing.  I’ve worked in a variety of editorial positions for The Christian Science Publishing Society, which has only deepened my love for all that Mary Baker Eddy established and shared with the world. I began advertising in The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner in 2017 and went through Normal class to become an authorized teacher of Christian Science in 2024.

I’d love to meet you and cherish your spiritual search! I’m Suzanne Riedel, C.S.B., and I live and teach in the Austin, Texas area. I am guessing we may have some experiences in common . M ine have been varied. My marriage, five children, graduate school, and teaching high school and middle school for 20 years all were proving grounds for what I was learning about God and the great Love we all have.

I have always had a love of healing in Christian Science. My first family stories were of how my grandfather’s immediate conviction of the Science of the Christ healed my uncles and aunts in their moments of great need.

I grew up in Malaga, Spain. My desire to serve others led me to join the Society of Jesus where I was an ordained priest.