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About Sweet Tea

The fourth anniversary of Olivia's daddy and John Lennon's death is approaching. Like the shot heard 'round the world, TV and radio stations keep the frenzy alive and recognize Lennon's life, while Olivia's mama remembers Daddy's death. Instead of healing, Mama's strange behavior keeps getting worse. After viewing an afternoon talk show, Olivia discovers her mother might have more than a case of eccentricity-she may be mentally ill. When those fears are confirmed, Olivia is faced with more decisions than any sixteen-year-old should have to make. With no adult family members to turn to, she is forced to trust the only people who've offered help: one strange man and a friend her mother makes at the mental institution. Facing intricacies of her mother's illness one minute and relationship decisions about her new boyfriend the next, Olivia finds that through faith and determination, she can conquer it all in this poignant story of love, institution, compassion, and hope.

Reviews

Reviews

"In this day and age, society still finds it difficult to face the challenges families encounter that are living with a mentally ill parent. Ms. Decker's novel brings these issues to light in a realistic manner that engages readers as well as helps them understand…"- Christine Harris, Co-President, Middlesex County, NJ NAMI

"Decker brings to life the chaos, confusion and poignancy of loving and living with a mentally ill mother. I couldn't stop reading, even when my heart was aching and my brain was cringing." - Shari Sanford,Paperback Exchange Bookstore

"Compelling and real. Everyone, teenagers and adults can relate to this story. I cried, laughed and learned!"- Shari Stein, Media Specialist, J. P. Stevens High School

"Wendy Lynn Decker has a very unique and talented gift of writing. I really enjoyed the down home style that assimilates a Tom Sawyer genre and I wouldn't be surprised if this book became recommended reading for contemporary school systems." -Ray Costa, LPC, LCADC, NCC 

"Sweet Tea is a fine young adult story...So many titles on mental illness narrow the focus to coping and neglect the overall bigger picture of how home life with mental illness can interact with a wider world outside home's front door...Sweet Tea offers a bittersweet taste of what life's all about, and will immerse young adult and adult readers alike in a life well lived."   -D. Donovan, Book Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

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