As Promised: Where Are the Cocoa Puffs? Cover Design

Early Praise for: Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?

Where Are the Cocoa Puffs? is a coming of age story. It provides an authentic look at a teenager, her family and friends who struggle to come to terms with the onset of her mental illness and to find a balance between hope and acceptance. Read it for its own sake. Read it to learn. It speaks to many truths.

Michael J. Fitzpatrick, MSW Executive Director
NAMI National

Where Are the Cocoa Puffs? Is an engaging family story of what happens when the 18-year-old daughter develops bipolar disorder. It is very well written and accurately reflects the effects of this disorder on all members of the family. Strongly recommended.

E. Fuller Torrey, M.D.
Executive Director
The Stanley Medical Research Institute Author of: Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers.

Synopsis: Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?: A Family's Journey Through Bipolar Disorder

As eighteen-year-old Amanda spirals into mania, her father, psychiatrist Dr. Jerry Benson, sees the realization of his worst fears: his daughter is not just moody, but truly ill. With his words, his diagnosis – manic depressive illness – his world and that of his family is forever altered. Carol, Amanda’s mother, struggles with the guilt and the shame of having raised a “crazy” daughter. Christy, Amanda’s fifteen-year-old sister, denies the illness; after all, ‘my-sister’s-a-bitch’ is so much easier to accept. Meanwhile, the Bensons’ extended family offers up everything from unconditional support to uncomfortable scrutiny as Amanda careens between bouts of frightening violence, cosmic euphoria, and suicidal despair.

Then there’s Ryan, an architecture student, who is initially ensnared by Amanda’s manic sexuality, but is ultimately captured and held throughout the chaos by the force of love and strength of family.

Where are the Cocoa Puffs?: A Family Journey Through Bipolar Disorder, follows a family through the tragedy of bipolar disorder, but it’s not tragic. It’s funny, sad, and thought provoking – and as real and as raw as mental illness itself.

Cocoa Puffs: Where Are They?

It’s time for an comprehensive update on the status of my novel. Yes. It’s still being published. It looks like it will still be out August 30th or very close to that date. I just confirmed with my publisher (Goodman Beck Publishing) that it will get national, if not international, distribution with their distributor, Partners Publishers Group, meaning it will be available in all the Barnes & Nobles and Borders and B. Daltons and Waldenbooks! And even bigger than that! – I’ve also secured an endorsement from Dr. E. Fuller Torrey! (He’s the author of a lot of books on mental illness. He’s the father of modern mental illness!) This is what he had to say:

Where Are the Cocoa Puffs? Is an engaging family story of what happens when the 18-year-old daughter develops bipolar disorder. It is very well written and accurately reflects the effects of this disorder on all members of the family. Strongly recommended.

I was very excited to receive his endorsement! Mike Fitzpatrick, Executive Director NAMI National (National Alliance on Mental Illness) has also committed to giving me an endorsement. He’s on vacation now, hopefully reading and enjoying the galley proof as I write this.

We’ve also added a subtitle, so that the official title of the novel is: Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?: A Family’s Journey Through Bipolar Disorder. They shot the photos yesterday for the cover, so I should be seeing it soon. They’re going with the empty cereal bowl theme. I hope I like it! Sheila Le Gacy will be hosting a NAMI fundraiser/book launch party at her home toward the end of September. I will be talking at our local Syracuse NAMI conference in October and hope to do something on the state level in November.

I’ve also had a couple essays published in our local paper. You can see these on-line by hitting the following links:

http://blog.syracuse.com/cny/2010/05/guest_column_why_dont_we_treat_mental_illnesses_like_physical_illnesses.html

http://blog.syracuse.com/cny/2010/07/end_note_by_author_karen_winters_schwartz.html

Needless to say, I am very excited. I’m also slightly freaked-out and nauseated.

This is truly a good and important book. I expect everyone to buy it, love it, and give it to all their friends and family for Christmas/Hanukkah. I will send along the cover design just as soon as I have it!

My very best and love to all! Karen