Susanna: The True and Tragic Story of Susanna Heatwole Brunk Cooprider

**This is a pre-order. Books will ship after September 12, 2026**

Rhodes, Karl.

Susanna is the true story of Susanna Heatwole Brunk Cooprider, a Virginia Mennonite woman who was born three miles west of Harrisonburg in 1840. Orphaned as a teenager, she married her guardian, Henry Brunk, who refused to fight in the Civil War. Henry escaped to Maryland, and when Susanna braved enemy lines to join him, the bridge at Harpers Ferry was on fire. She forded the Potomac River and found Henry at Hagerstown with Confederate forces hot on her heels. Together they fled to Illinois, and then they traveled 500 miles to Kansas in covered wagons. Henry died eight days after they arrived, leaving Susanna alone on the prairie with seven young children and another one on the way. She endured fires, fevers, poverty, family strife, the deaths of children, and the worst locust plague since Exodus. Henry and Susanna were the parents of Mennonite leader George R. Brunk I and the grandparents of Mennonite evangelist George R. Brunk II.

240 pages; Richmond, VA:  Dale Enterprise Literary Society, 2026.

Endnotes may be found at _____.com

Susanna is Karl’s second book. It is the sequel to Peggy’s War, a true Civil War story that has
achieved both critical acclaim and popular appeal. Born in Harrisonburg, Karl grew up mostly in Florida, returning to the valley in time to graduate from Turner Ashby High School. His journalism career included several years as executive editor of Virginia Business magazine, and he has won numerous awards for writing and editing, including a gold medal from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Karl retired in 2021 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he was a senior managing editor in the bank’s research department. Since then, he has been researching, writing, and promoting his books. He and his wife, Kim, live in Richmond, but they are frequent visitors to the valley.