Running for My Life is the powerful story of Andrea McKane, a fourteenyear- old who struggles to cope with her mother's schizophrenia. She must face the heartbreaking fact that her mother, with whom she once laughed and played, has vanished into her disease, possibly forever. The book accurately portrays the difficulties a teen faces when dealing with the illness, the abuse and absence of a parent with mental illness. Running for My Life shows the effects of mental illness on a family, and a teenager's attempts to manage the changes that have shaken her life.With courage, strength, and the loving support of her friends, her father, and her therapist, Andrea finds salvation through running. Running for My Life represents a heartwarming, encouraging breakthrough effort in portraying the challenges teens confront when they have to protect themselves from a guardian.
It is the courage and determination of teenagers that inspires Ann to write. She holds a MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, a BA from Boston College, and has been a lifelong student of psychology.
In addition to writing, Ann teaches writing at North Seattle Community College and in an online class that is available to anyone, anywhere, at almost anytime.
Running for My Life, Ann's debut novel, was written during the 30 days of National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) 2007. After laboring for a year-and-a-half over unpublishable manuscript, Ann discovered that she's a nano-novelist. The novels she writes in 30 days are a thousand times better and have more heart than the ones she struggles with. If you are a writer, or have a novel idea you'd like to put to paper, there's absolutely nothing to lose by joining Ann and other writers this November for a novel-writing party.
