Suz Atlas is remembered for refusing to give up during hardship. It’s a lesson for us all.

Mary Groce was instantly drawn to Suz Atlas, who passed away in September, when the two met at a support group for lesbians in 1994.

The two were big believers in the mind-body connection. Just after coming out — which they’d both repressed for decades, they each experienced health scares that felt like manifestations of the extreme emotional experience. It was like their bodies were grappling just as much as their hearts and minds with what it meant to face their truths and move toward self-acceptance.

“It was so powerful that it caused physical symptoms in both of us,” she said. “It was that emotionally powerful.”

Groce was in her mid-40s by the time she came out — but she wasn’t done waiting. The two listened to the advice of their counselor in group therapy, who told them not to exp