Bestselling Author and Mental Health Advocate
When I was a Washington Post reporter, I did not believe in joining groups or organizations. I needed to be independent in order to be objective. Then my son, Mike, got sick and the first thing I did after I finished writing my book, CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, was join the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI.)
Why?
I will be speaking at a local library tonight [June 8th] in Fairfax about some of my adventures as an author. The informal program begins at 6 p.m. at the Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Avenue, Vienna, Virginia. The libary also did a podcast interview with me that can be heard here.
My first literary agent also represented Nelson DeMille and for the past 24 years, Nelson and I have been friends. His newest book, The Lion, is being released today and I read an advance copy weeks ago that he sent me and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are looking for a summer read, get a copy.
“John Corey, former NYPD homicide detective and now a special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force is back. Unfortunately, so is Asad Khalil, the notorious Libyan terrorist otherwise known as “The Lion.” When last we heard from him, Khalil had claimed to be defecting to the U.S. only to unleash the most horrific reign of terror ever to occur on American soil. While Corey and his partner, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, pursued him across the country, Khalil methodically eliminated his victims one by one and then disappeared without a trace. Now, three years later, Khalil has returned to America to make good on his threats and take care of unfinished business. “The Lion” is a killing machine once again loose in America with a mission of revenge, and John Corey will stop at nothing to achieve his own goal – to find and kill Khalil.”
The first time Mike became psychotic, I drove him to a hospital emergency room. We didn’t know any psychiatrists and Mike needed immediate help. Taking him there turned out to be a mistake.
Emergency rooms are where everyone goes nowadays whenever they have any kind of health-related crisis, but many are poorly equipped to deal with psychiatric patients in the midst of a mental break. 
Some patients are turned away, as Mike and I were, without getting help. Or a patient might be held down and given a shot of Haldol or another strong anti-psychotic that will help stabilize him but also can turn him into a walking zombie for days.
Joe and his wife, Amy, lived in Caratunk, a picturesque town of about 110 residents nestled in the state’s northern hills. Joe is a rugged, friendly man, who worked as a senior technician for the Maine Department of Transportation before retiring several years ago. Amy, served as the town’s treasurer. Their son, William – known as Willy – is the oldest of three boys. The family lived in a 100-year-old farmhouse that sits near the banks of a winding, rock-strewn stream.
Pete Earley is the bestselling author of such books as The Hot House and Crazy. When he is not spending time with his family, he tours the globe advocating for mental health reform.
As a former reporter for The Washington Post, Pete uses his journalistic background to take a fair-minded approach to the story all while weaving an interesting tale for the reader.