Terry Trueman (born December 15, 1947) is a Printz Award-winning author of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

, with his best known book being '' Stuck in Neutral'', as well as books of poetry and short stories for adults and children. Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Trueman has lived in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

since 1974. He also had a home in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

for many years. He holds master's degrees in applied psychology and creative writing.

Early life

Trueman grew up in the northern suburbs of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

with his parents. His father, Sydney M. Trueman, was a fighter pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and won the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

flying off the Aircraft Carrier USS Ticonderoga. He has one sister.

Education

Trueman struggled in school, especially during middle school and high school, but graduated from Shoreline H.S. in 1966. He attended

Shoreline Community College Shoreline Community College is a public community college in Shoreline, Washington. It is located in a residential area east of Shoreview Park. The college contains over 80 acres and continuously serves 12,000 full- and part-time students. It o ...

and

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

in the following couple years, prior to enrolling at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1968, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1973, majoring in Creative Writing in English. He received a Master of Science in Developmental Psychology from Eastern Washington State College in 1975. He pursued further graduate study in the Education Dept. of Washington State University between 1980 and 1981. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

in 1984. Trueman was 'lifetime' certified as a K-12 licensed Teacher in 1973.

Career as a writer

His first novel, '' Stuck in Neutral'' was published in 2001, and was inspired by his son Sheehan, who was born a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. The disease severely crippled his son and threatened to overwhelm Trueman, who eventually turned his shock and grief into a narrative poem, ''Sheehan'', which in turn grew to become the novel, ''Stuck in Neutral''. Trueman released two other companion novels for teens, ''Cruise Control'' (2004) and ''Life Happens Next'' (2012), as well as a non-fiction book about his son, ''Sheehan: Heartbreak and Redemption'' (2007). Trueman's favorite author is

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

. Like Bukowski, Trueman had written his whole life but only gained recognition later, when he was 52.

Selected works

* * * * *

Awards

* Michael L. Printz Honor Award, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trueman, Terry Living people Writers from Birmingham, Alabama American young adult novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Alabama 1947 births