1. Laura is a typical fifteen-year-old growing up in the 1960’s, navigating her way through classes, friendships, and even a new romance. But she’s carrying around a secret: her mother is suffering from a mental illness. No one in Laura’s family will talk about her mother’s past hospitalizations or increasingly erratic behavior, and Laura is confused and frightened. She finds some solace in art, but when her mother, also an artist, suffers a breakdown, Laura fears that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Left without a refuge, can she find the courage to face what scares her most? **************************** Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Fiction, Ages 13 & up October 2014 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5437-7 Original paperback, 320 pages $9.00

2. WHAT IS FREE VERSE?

3. Free verse is poetry that is free of rules! YAY! HAPPY DANCE!

4. YOU ARE THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SHIP (er, poem)….

5. and you may bring whatever you like on board ! Rhyming Punctuation Capitalization Rhythm

6. AHOY THIS IS THE CAPTAIN FOLLOW ME

7. You might even want to bring along some extra cargo if you have it handy…… similes metaphors sensory words alliteration onomatopoeia repetition

8. Free verse travels well because it is so flexible it can be A few words on a page OR enough words to fill a book

9. THERE IS ONE MORE THING I REALLY LOVE ABOUT FREE VERSE……

10. Free verse loves to help you talk about persons, places, or things that might be difficult to talk about any other way.

11. Bipolar Disorder  Is a serious brain disorder  genetic  not curable  often starts in late teens or early adulthood  Also known as manic depression  Mood swings from happy or “up” (called mania) to sad or “down” (called depression)  More severe than normal ups and downs  Makes it difficult to go to school or hold a job  Treatment is available and patients can get better and lead successful lives  Sometimes need to try several medications to find the one that works best

12. Why I wrote Crazy  I lived with a mother who had bipolar disorder  I had many questions and strong feelings about it  Writing in free verse helped me work through my feelings  I hope sharing my story might be helpful to someone else who may have gone through similar hard times

13. Other books in free verse…  Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse  Tells the story of a family of farmers during the Dust Bowl years in Oklahoma during 1934-1935  Stop Pretending: What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones  Based on a true story of an older sister who has a mental breakdown, and how the family and friends cope with it.  Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai  Inspired by the author’s childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama  Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford  Based on the life of Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.