2013
Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley
This will be the fifth year of the One Book, One Community project. Its success on
campus and in the community prompted Chancellor G. David Gearhart to provide the project
with a permanent budget, drawing on money from private donations to the Chancellor’s
Fund.
“The One Book, One Community project has strong academic value and campus support from faculty and students alike," Gearhart said. "Like its predecessors in this series, Crazy will provide our campus community with an intellectually stimulating shared experience. I look forward to reading it and to the discussions and special programs related to it."
“The committee is very grateful to the chancellor for his support,” said Fitzpatrick. “We believe this support will go a long way toward helping the One Book, One Community project become an essential and sustainable program at the University of Arkansas. We are working to build a program that enriches our students’ education and becomes a memorable experience for the entire community.”
Students in their University Perspectives course and several other classes will read, discuss and write about Crazy as part of their course assignments. Pete Earley will visit Fayetteville November 7-8 to speak with students and faculty, deliver a public lecture, and meet with local book club members at the Fayetteville Public Library.
Pete Earley is a storyteller who has penned 13 books including the New York Times bestseller The Hot House and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness.
After a 14-year career in journalism, including six years at The Washington Post, Pete became a full-time author with a commitment to expose the stories that entertain and surprise.
His honest reporting and compelling writing helped him garner success as one of few authors with ”the power to introduce new ideas and give them currency,” according to Washingtonian magazine.
When Pete’s life was turned upside down by the events recounted in his book Crazy, he joined the National Alliance of Mental Illness to advocate for strong mental health reform on the public stage.
This new advocacy has taken him to 46 different states and multiple countries around the globe where he delivers speeches to rally against the troubled mental health systems and for the mentally ill.