Crazy for Trying: 25th Anniversary Author's Cut

by Joni Rodgers

"Think Jane Eyre with Rock 'n' Roll"— Houston Press

In this brave and beautiful debut novel, star-crossed lovers, dysfunctional families, and comically flawed friends blaze a fresh trail through the romantic badlands and strident sexual politics of 1970s Montana. Zaftig late-night disc jockey Tulsa Bitters discovers the power of invisibility when the sound of her voice draws an intriguing stranger out of the dark. Vietnam vet Mac White Wolf MacPeters—half Blackfoot, half raging Irish—is smitten with Tulsa’s wry intelligence, and she’s won over by his careful courtship.

Friends and drinking buddies disapprove of the unlikely affair, but for a while, Tulsa’s love-struck tenacity allows Mac to pretend that things might actually work out. She holds fast to her belief in Mac’s threadbare sanity, knowing that ghosts and coyotes are just out of earshot, waiting to spirit him back into the shadows of a dangerous Western solitude.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 26, 2022

About the author

NYT bestselling author Joni Rodgers was born into a family of gospel/bluegrass musicians and grew up on stage, opening for huge-haired country music legends of the 60s and 70s. She continued performing until 1994, when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and used the chemo downtime to complete her first two novels, both of which were published to critical acclaim. Joni's memoir, Bald in the Land of Big Hair (Harper Collins 2001), garnered glowing reviews around the world, was excerpted in Good Housekeeping, condensed by Reader’s Digest, and is still in print after ten years. It also launched Joni's public speaking career and brought her to the attention of celebrities and others who began asking her to help them tell their stories. She's known on both coasts as a ghostwriter, book doctor and memoir guru who applies the fine art of fiction to the creation of well-crafted narrative nonfiction.

Between novels and ghostwriting projects, Joni volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and blogs about books and publishing on "Boxing the Octopus". Married to jet plane mechanic/wine maker Gary Rodgers since 1983, Joni is the proud mother of two fine young adults. She lives in Houston, Texas. Her latest book debuted at #6 on the NYT bestseller list.

“A mix of Moly Ivins' blowsy wit and Anna Quindlen's suburban logic...Rodgers manages the rare literary feat of being funny and painful in one urgent breath.”
~ Entertainment Weekly

Reviews

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tough to read and important

A lot has happened to get to 2025 and there is so much more that needs to happen. I am very thankful this book was written and then republished as I had been trying to read it. This book is worth reading, thinking, and talking about.