Crazy Dangerous (33 page)
But my dad was just as sure that he’d never had a statue like that.
And somehow, I’ve never been able to find the thing again.
As I watched the green pickup drive away, for some reason I found myself wishing I had asked the old farmer about the statue. For some reason—I’m not sure why—I thought he would have been able to help me understand it. I’ve never been able to make any sense of it myself.
But it was too late now. So I just stood there watching the pickup get smaller and smaller in the distance, trailing a cloud of dust behind it. Finally, it trundled out of sight over the rim of the hill.
And after a while, I started running again.
My thanks to Alan J. Fridlund, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and to George Bifano, D.O., a psychiatrist: both were tremendously patient and helpful with my questions about schizophrenia and mental illness.
I’m also grateful to champion runner Bob Lunn for helping me describe high school track events.
Of all the books and articles I read on mental illness, two books stand out for their harrowing firsthand accounts of what it’s like to suffer from these painful diseases:
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
, by Elyn R. Saks; and
A Shining Affliction: A Story of Harm and Healing in Psychotherapy
, by Annie G. Rogers.
My thanks, too, to my wonderful editor at Thomas Nelson, Amanda Bostic, who is a joy to work with and to know. Likewise, my agent at Trident Media, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who has been more helpful than I can say.
Finally, and always, my thanks to Ellen Treacy Klavan, who remains, after all these years, my muse, my song, my only ever love.
Warning: Reading Group Guide contains spoilers!
Do not read until you have completed the novel.
1. Sam acknowledges that he didn’t always make the right decisions early on in the novel. What do you think would have happened had he not made those bad decisions? How would events have played out later in the novel? Have you ever had any bad decisions that might have led to something good? Was it worth the error in judgment?
2. What do you think is the true nature of Jennifer’s visions? Why do you think she chose to tell Sam about them? What do you think her brother thought of the visions?
3. Why do you think Sam was so certain that Jennifer’s warnings were true? Why do you think no one believed her even after her first one proved true?
4. Sam longs to be on the track team—to be a part of the popular group. How did that affect his decisions in the beginning of the novel? How did it change toward the end?
5. Who do you think the old man in the truck is? What is his significance?
6. Name the times when Sam had to remind himself to “Do right. Fear nothing.” How difficult was it for him to follow that mantra? What were some times in your life when you’ve had to remind yourself to “Do right. Fear Nothing.”?
7. When Joe advises Sam to tell his father everything that is going on with Jeff, Sam agrees that he should. But then he doesn’t because his father is distracted. What do you think would have happened had he been able to talk to his father that night? Have you ever dreaded having to tell your parents something? What made you face your fear and tell them? What were their reactions?
8. Do you have a mantra similar to Sam’s that you rely on when you have to make a tough decision?
9. Sam’s dad didn’t know what statue he was talking about. Do you think Sam imagined it? What other explanation could there be?
10. Do you think that the fact that Sam is a preacher’s kid has any effect on how he responds to Jennifer? How would you have responded to her?
11. There are a few times in the novel when the timing on an event is perfect, such as when the old man in the truck shows up when Sam is being beaten up. Do you think that was a coincidence?
Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as “the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as
True Crime
and
Don’t Say a Word
.