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Chasing North Star

A Novel

By: Heidi McCrary

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Paperback | 15 October 2020

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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 cemetery—just another day in Alamo. That is, until the youngest sibling stumbles upon Didi’s story.

Industry Reviews

"Chasing North Star has heart and is packed with nostalgic cultural references from the Wonder Years era. Inspired by a true story, Heidi McCrary's novel is no one's fantasy of the perfect childhood. Part horror story, part love story, it keeps the reader engaged and lays bare what it's like to grow up with a mentally ill mother who broke her children's 45s but couldn't 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 McCrary's novel sheds light on the ways we are taught to hide or ignore the pain we see in others and just how much one person's kindness can make all the difference to a person in their life journey."
--J. Dylan Yates, author of The Belief in Angels and Szaja's Story

"Heidi McCrary's debut novel, Chasing North Star, is a moving story about secrets and survival and enduring sibling ties, bound by a mother's mental illness. This heartfelt tale lingers long after the final page."
--Linda Kass, author of Tasa's 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 mother's frightening mental illness. The author sharply renders the generational impact of trauma by including shifts to the mother's 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 pain--often terror--of 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

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