Norman Ollestad
Crazy for the Storm
New York Times Bestseller
One of Amazon's Ten Best Books of the year
Starbucks Featured Summer Selection
Film rights to Warner Brothers
“Breathtaking...A portrait of a father’s consuming love for his son, Crazy for the Storm will keep you up late into the night.” — Washington Post Book World
Norman Ollestad’s New York Times bestselling memoir Crazy for the Storm is the story of the harrowing plane crash the author miraculously survived at age eleven, framed by the moving tale of his complicated relationship with his charismatic, adrenaline-addicted father. Destined to stand with other classic true stories of man against nature—Into Thin Air and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer; Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm—it is a literary triumph that novelist Russell Banks (Affliction) calls, “A heart-stopping story beautifully told….Norman Ollestad has written a book that may well be read for generations.”
Norman Ollestad, a New York Times bestselling author, was born in Los Angeles, California. He studied creative writing at UCLA and attended UCLA’s undergrad Film School. His writing has appeared in Outside, Men’s Journal and Time. He is married and has two children—a son and daughter—and lives in California.
Published by Ecco/HarperCollins in 2009.
More praise for Crazy for the Storm:
“Tragic and exotic... adrenaline-fueled excitement.” — The New York Times
“Riveting.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Cinematic and personal . . . Ollestad’s insights into growing up in a broken home and adolescence in southern California are as engrossing as the story of his trip down the mountain.” — Chicago Tribune
“This is a heart-stopping story beautifully told, an eleven-year-old boy’s story that deals with profound and challenging moral and philosophical issues. When does the quest for ecstasy become a danger-junkie’s kick? How does a good boy become a good man? How do you raise a child in a busted-up family? Norman Ollestad has written a book that may well be read for generations. It’s a book that fathers should give to their sons, but sons should give it to their fathers, too. And mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters—read it and weep for all the boys and men you have ever loved.” — Russell Banks
“An elegant memoir as well as a transformative coming-of-age tale. When he leaves his father’s limp body behind on the icy plateau―giving it a final kiss and caress as it’s claimed by the snow―Ollestad takes his first perilous steps not just into survival, but into adulthood.” — New York Post
“The memoir is as much about a father-son relationship as it is a survival story... Ollestad says his father’s life philosophy about surfing and skiing - ‘knowing there’s always a place to go and find peace, clear your mind’ - got him down the mountain and through life.” — USA Today
“A page-turning adventure tale . . . and a meditation on manhood.” — Los Angeles Magazine
“Crazy for the Storm is an absolutely compelling book which I read in one long sitting. The fact that it’s true made me shudder, but then Norman Ollestad is a fine writer and every detail is convincing.” — Jim Harrison
“As much a thriller as a memoir. . . . Gorgeously written, perfectly controlled.”— Carolyn See
“At times beautiful, at times heart-wrenching, Crazy for the Storm is a commanding read — a tale that proves the power of the human spirit can rise against any challenge, and a father’s legacy can be more than he imagines. — BookPage
“Extraordinary―an adventure story with a rich psychological foundation from an enormously talented author. Crazy for the Storm is a powerful book.” — Pulitzer Prize–winner Lucinda Franks, author of My Father's Secret War
French Girl with Mother
“Finely wrought; Ollestad builds a delicate tension between the characters, exposing their raw desire and exploring the concept of artistic inspiration...A quietly tense and absorbing read.” — Kirkus
French Girl with Mother is a provocative, propulsive thriller that marries the spirit of James Salter with a hint of Patricia Highsmith and the velocity of The Art Forger.
Nathan is a young artist traveling across Europe in search of the emotional fire that has been missing from his work. He’s been deemed by his mentors and criti cs as technically skillful but uninspired —criticisms he fears to be true. On a Paris street, he witnesses the volatile breakup of a young French woman and her beau. Nathan pursues a meeting with the woman and it very quickly becomes evident that her provocative charisma and scathing beauty just may conjure the electricity he has been seeking for his work. So when the woman invites him to her parents' crumbling, centuries-old chateau in the country to allow him to sketch her, he accepts, knowing that this proposition is both ill advised and thrilling.
Once enveloped by this isolated estate, a door opens to a world Nathan is not prepared for. The arrival of the young woman’s family—her mother, a volatile, voracious former ballerina, her father, a mysterious businessman with secrets of his own, and her uncle, who might be trafficking in art forgeries.
Published by Counterpoint in 2017.
More praise for French Girl With Mother:
“A unique, atmospheric literary thriller with a strong sense of place that will have appeal for fans of both Scandinavian crime fiction and psychological thrillers.” — Booklist
Formentera
From New York Times bestselling author Norman Ollestad comes a captivating short story about the fraying relationship of a married couple and the bold, messy explorations of intimacy that only seem possible far away from home.
Jim Stenson has been flown to the bohemian island of Formentera for a monthlong gig: writing a screenplay for a famous Spanish director, loosely based on the classic French film Contempt. With his career flagging, Jim is determined to make the most of the opportunity. But the director raises the stakes, pushing Jim to draw inspiration for the script from his strained relationship with his wife Anna.
Anna arrives on the island with her own agenda, thinking this long-overdue break from her psychotherapy practice will offer a chance to clear her head and, perhaps, even reignite a spark in her marriage. Languid days and emotionally charged nights create a dynamic neither expects. And when Jim's writing and their time together begin to blur the lines between reality and fantasy, they must decide: Is this an opportunity for a breakthrough or the beginning of the end?
Published 2021 by Audible.