Saint Jude

By Dawn DeAnna Wilson

There's an art to going crazy. It's an art Taylor knows all too well. Suffering from manic-depressive illness, Taylor spends her senior year of high school at a place called Saint Jude's-- essentially... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0936389680
• ISBN13: 9780936389684
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Tudor Publishers
• Length: 171 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Been There, Done That

I could completely relate to this book. I went through an experience similar to the one Taylor did, and it was uncanny how Dawn Wilson actually explained what really happens in that kind of situation. The book was great, it's one of those books that you cannot put down. The ups and downs of Taylor's experiences are explained in great detail, it makes you feel like you are right there with her, going through everything she does. The book makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it brings out all your emotions.

We Read To Know We're Not Alone

"We read to know we're not alone," said C.S. Lewis. Dawn Wilson writes so that young people -- young people struggling with mental illness -- will know they are not alone. This writer takes us inside the head of Taylor Drysdale who tells us, from page to page, about the "art of going crazy." When Taylor steps onto the porch of Saint Jude for the first time, the boards creak with her weight. The reader enters the weighty world of Saint Jude as Taylor describes a world that is "billowy and shaking," a world that is "all underwater." When Taylor finally leaves, however, she is aware that the boards no longer creak, as if she has somehow grown lighter. Dawn Wilson invites all readers to visit Saint Jude; she invites all readers to understand what happens there.

A must read for anyone working with adolescents

Ms. Wilson approaches the subject of mental illness in an honest, forthright manner. All of us who work with young people would be better equipped to understand those with difficulties, and to help those who don't have mental illness understand their peer, if we all read Saint Jude.

Excellent Story

Enjoyed this book immensely. A well-developed story with a major theme usually ignored in fiction literature. Highly recommended.

A book that takes on the real world

Dawn Wilson has written a book that tackles an "embarrassing" subject in the real world - mental illnesses. I found the book hard to put down because the plot is riveting and the cast of memorable characters made me feel and think. I really enjoyed "watching" their often humorous interactions and reactions to one another. Plus, the author didn't write it solely as teens with mental illnesses story, but the pages perceptively weave in the total picture of teen issues such as body images and gossip at high school and making life decisions and so forth. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.