Chasing North Star: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

Germany, 1940. While struggling to survive at an orphanage, young Didi crosses paths with a rebellious, quirky girl who will either help her escape a life of abuse and uncertainty or lead her down an even darker path. Fast-forward to 1970. With help from a worn leather journal, another young girl learns the story of Didi, who escaped war-torn Germany for a better life in America-except her life didn't turn out as expected. The stories of these two girls intertwine and eventually collide one Christmas night when Didi, all grown up, finally remembers the secret she buried long ago. Chasing North Star looks back at a time when four free-range siblings, cigarettes in hand, roamed the streets 'til sunrise and hid from a gun-toting, mentally ill mother who couldn't help herself. Stingray bicycles, transistor radios, and late nights in the cemetary-just another day in Alamo. That is, until the youngest sibling stumbles upon Didi's story.

Reviews

Chasing North Star has heart and is packed with nostalgic cultural references from the Wonder Years era. Inspired by a true story, Heidi McCrarys novel is no ones fantasy of the perfect childhood. Part horror story, part love story, it keeps the reader engaged and lays bare what its like to grow up with a mentally ill mother who broke her childrens 45s but couldnt break their spirits.
Lori Moore, TV/radio personality and actress

Chasing North Star explores universal themes of abandonment, isolation, grief, mental illness, and forgiveness in an authentic and engaging manner. The narrative is familiar, like a close friend sharing a secret. Heidi McCrarys novel sheds light on the ways we are taught to hide or ignore the pain we see in others and just how much one persons kindness can make all the difference to a person in their life journey.
J. Dylan Yates, author of The Belief in Angels and Szajas Story

Heidi McCrarys debut novel, Chasing North Star, is a moving story about secrets and survival and enduring sibling ties, bound by a mothers mental illness. This heartfelt tale lingers long after the final page.
Linda Kass, author of Tasas Song and A Ritchie Boy

Chasing North Star is a poignant novel that beautifully captures the small-town childhood of four siblings trying to survive their mothers frightening mental illness. The author sharply renders the generational impact of trauma by including shifts to the mothers difficult past in wartime Germany.
Elise Schiller, author of Watermark

Heidi McCrary delivers an unforgettable and unflinching coming-of-age novel about the ties that bind siblings in their complicated family struggles. Chasing North Star examines the painoften terrorof growing up with a narcissistic, mentally ill mother and the fact that the love we all crave has to ultimately be found in ourselves.
Diana Y. Paul, author of Things Unsaid

Author Bio

Heidi McCrary is the youngest of five children. She has worked in the media world all her life; she spent many years with the West Michigan CBS TV station, and is currently in the advertising marketing industry. She is also a contributing writer for a regional womens magazine. Embracing all that West Michigan has to offer, Heidi can often be found in one of the many wonderful towns along the Lake Michigan shoreline, or on the local golf course, working on her goal of becoming a mediocre golfer. She lives with her husband, Jon, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, just a short drive from Alamo, where she grew up, and owns the family woods depicted in Chasing North Star. Her two sons, Tyler and Phillip, are doing great despite being raised by a mother with no formal training. Chasing North Star is her first novel. She currently resides in Kalamazoo, MI.