Early Life
Blume was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the daughter of Esther (née Rosenfeld), a homemaker, and Ralph Sussman, a dentist. She has a brother, David, who is five years older. Her family was Jewish. Blume has recalled, "I spent most of my childhood making up stories inside of my head." She graduated from Battin High School in 1956, then enrolled in Boston University. In the first semester, she was diagnosed with mononucleosis and took a brief leave from school before graduating from New York University in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in teaching.
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