Nothing is more entertaining than a dysfunctional family. Someone once said, “No great writer ever had a normal childhood.” I don’t know if that’s true, but hiding in cars from a gun-toting mother dressed in a straitjacket does make for a great story.”

Perhaps this stokes thoughts of your own childhood experiences — something author Heidi McCrary frequently encounters when discussing her newly-released novel, “Chasing North Star.” Originally the novel, intended as a memoir, was inspired by conversations Heidi and her sister would have about their own childhood following book club discussions while reading “The Glass Castle: A Memoir,” by Jeanette Walls.

During these back and forths the two would exchange and explore more of the two’s childhood escapades with their three other siblings and wacky mother, all growing up in Alamo, Michigan. Heidi thought, “You know what? This was funny. We had an unbalanced childhood. Sometimes it was wonderful and funny, but part of it was very dark. I was the youngest of five and thank God my older siblings protected me. Our adventures were really colorful and worth writing about.”

The journey began in 2013. Heidi would spend time, while her husband worked as a ski instructor in the winter months, putting together her novel. She remembers that date as, “It was the first thing I wrote when I started writing, because I wanted to remember exactly when I started writing it.”

The few years journey it took to write the novel wasn’t so much the struggle, nor was sharing the story. Rather it was finding someone to publish it. The writing world is, at this time, especially saturated with writing from nearly everyone with a computer and the ability to speak. Heidi began her journey to publishing by looking for an agent, but no one was looking for a book like hers. Rather, there was indication agents were looking for more youthful books, or more like the next “Twilight” of novels.

Two years of trying to find an agent led Heidi to forgo the agent and explore self- publishing options in the form of hybrid publishing. The writer pays for the cost to produce the book up front. The publisher retains some of the profit, but the writer comes away with more of the profits than in just your typical publishing. A win on all fronts, and it also ensured her book was published and distributed. Her first discovery and attempt of finding a hybrid publisher landed her with She Writes Press.

In her editing process, Heidi would come to discover a tedious process of editing words via the “book of things you cannot say in your book” list that was shared with her. Words like “idiot” had to be changed. And her most painful thing to give up would be her original title, “Chasing Crazy,” due to the considered offensiveness of calling one “crazy.”

She had also shared the novel with her siblings, sparking frequent conversations that would at times fill in the holes to stories Heidi only could remember pieces of due to her young age (and her sibling’s incredible protectiveness). In some cases, they couldn’t remember parts either. Some would remark Heidi didn’t make their mother mean enough, but the intent was to make her a little human. Regardless, the enjoyable conversations brought on a further closeness in her family, and some resolve in sharing the chaos that was their childhood.

It is truly a well-written finished product of a beautifully amusing look at Heidi’s dysfunctional family over the course of 1970, and the extreme highs and lows of a childhood coursing along with her own mother’s bipolar highs and lows. All this while intertwining the coarse childhood her mother lived prior to a wonderful story of love and a promised better start in America.

Heidi’s story introduces readers to a near-real take on the stories of living with someone with a mental i llness, especially in an era where these are things not spoken of, which is insightfully and somewhat amusingly illustrated in spots of the story. At times, you may find yourself needing to set the book down reading through some of the disturbing scenes from her own life. But in other scenes you enjoy the amusing adventures of kids being just kids: like riding along with Heidi on her way to the neighbor’s house to drop off her mom’s cigarettes, so she can catch a spot of, “The Mary Tyler Moore,” show on their color television, loving the ability to see the real colors of Mary’s home.

Some stories may leave you feeling like you’re invading a truly personal story, but you are invited in to share in the delights of the Phillips children, while understanding the realness of their living situation and the true strength of character it provided them.

And that’s exactly how Heidi intended it to be.



“I do want people to realize, we all had f’ed up childhoods, and we all survived…for the most part. We came out alright on the other end. And that’s alright.”

Heidi’s novel, “Chasing North Star” was released last month with She Writes Press of California.You can find her novel in bookstores around the Kalamazoo area and retail stores. Follow Heidi at heidimccrary.net and fb.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor And make sure to catch her on her upcoming book tour under the potential name of, “My childhood was more f*cked up than yours. Or was it?”