Leslie Johansen Nack

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Leslie Johansen Nack

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Born
St. Paul, The United States
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Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sue Monk Kidd, Paula McLain, Nancy Horan, Abigail ...more

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February 2014

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Leslie Johansen Nack is the author of two award-winning books: her debut memoir, Fourteen, and her historical novel, The Blue Butterfly. Her forthcoming sequel, Nineteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery, concludes her raw and deeply personal story, chronicling her path to sobriety and a renewed sense of hope. Nack graduated from UCLA with a degree in English literature and overcame past traumas to raise two children in a healthy, loving home. She is a member of NAMW, the Historical Novel Society, and the PNWA. She lives outside Seattle with her husband.

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Leslie Johansen Nack Thank you Teresa for such a compelling and intriguing question. My parents tried to make their marriage work all throughout my childhood. My mother in…moreThank you Teresa for such a compelling and intriguing question. My parents tried to make their marriage work all throughout my childhood. My mother inherited the disease of alcoholism in addition to inheriting manic depression (which wasn't diagnosed until the 1980s) so her behavior was erratic and unpredictable at best. I believe my parents loved each other when they were first married but having children often puts a strain on even the best marriages, and my parent's marriage crumbled under the strain. My mother was in and out of mental hospitals every two years when I was growing up. It wasn't her fault, but I believe she was a victim of the times and the lack of medical diagnoses and treatments at the time (1960s and 1970s). I don't really get into this in Fourteen because it only covers 3 years of my life: from 12-14, with one flashback (chapter 3) as some background. My next book will cover this subject in much more depth.

My father would never have admitted he was not perfect. Isn't that the way it goes with gregarious, outgoing, outspoken, abusive bullies? He blamed everything on our mother. As a child it was hard to decipher what was going on, especially while living an extravagant and unusual life with my father.

I hope that answers your questions. I feel you are sympathetic towards my mother and I appreciate that. I am sympathetic towards her too at times. She lived in a time when the medical community didn't really have positive and sustaining treatments for somebody with a chemical imbalance. The treatments were often barbaric (shock treatments, heavy medications, restraints and sometimes abuse in the facilities charged with taking care of her).

Leslie(less)
Leslie Johansen Nack The true story depicted in my first memoir, Fourteen A Daughter's Memoir of Adventure, Sailing and Survival, is being continued in a second memoir as …moreThe true story depicted in my first memoir, Fourteen A Daughter's Memoir of Adventure, Sailing and Survival, is being continued in a second memoir as I reveal many mysteries including the mystery of how our sailboat Aegir sank in French Polynesia, and how my father died in the Mexican jungle. (less)
Average rating: 4.13 · 2,104 ratings · 276 reviews · 3 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Blue Butterfly: A Novel...

4.06 avg rating — 1,069 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions
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Fourteen: A Daughter's Memo...

4.19 avg rating — 1,017 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions
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Nineteen: A Daughter's Memo...

4.50 avg rating — 18 ratings4 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

eBook on sale everywhere

Hi, good readers,

The Blue Butterfly eBook is on sale everywhere now.

Links are on my website at www.lesliejohansennack.com.

Thanks! Happy reading. xo Leslie
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Published on October 21, 2023 14:01 Tags: biographical-historical-fiction, historical-fiction
The City and Its ...
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Leslie Nack entered a giveaway
Skylark by Paula McLain
Skylark
by Paula McLain (Goodreads Author)
100 copies available, ends on October 25, 2025 Enter to win »
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Isabela's Way by Barbara Stark-Nemon
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Stark-Nemon gives us fourteen-year-old Isabela, whom we immediately fall in love with, to see the tragedy and injustice of the Inquisition of the 1600s in Portugal. She is our heroine, and we watch her grow, change, and become a woman capable of not ...more
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No Longer That Girl by Stephanie L. Maley
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Maley reached down deep into my heart and stirred an ache for young girls like her who were innocent and sweet believers of all the good in the world, only to be abused by men who take what they want without regard for the girl. My heart breaks for M ...more
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If I Were Water & You Were Air by Judy Dykstra-Brown
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If I Were Water & You Were Air by Judy Dykstra-Brown
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Sock Talk by Judy Dykstra-Brown
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It's Always Been Me by Megan Walrod
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Saving Vincent by Joan  Fernandez
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Sit, Cinderella, Sit by Lisa Cheek
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What a delightful story, told in an upbeat, witty, and endearing manner. Cheek has succeeded in making me laugh and cry, while also melting my heart and shocking me with what she went through before, during, and after her trip to China to make the 20 ...more
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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah (Goodreads Author)
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