Some Kind of Normal

by Heidi Willis

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  About the Author

  Heidi Willis graduated from Penn State with degrees in Education and Communications. She taught junior high English in Texas long enough to develop a tolerance for country music but not long enough to speak with an accent. As a type 1 diabetic, she has plenty of experience in poking herself with needles and eating jelly beans and considers herself an expert in carb counting. Heidi is an avid photographer and loves to travel. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and three children.

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  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks go to Dee Justesen and the people at NorLightsPress for taking a chance on this story and me. I feel so privileged to be among this group: authors, editors, and publishing staff alike. NorLightsPress is a shooting star, and I am honored to be along for the ride! Thanks to my editor, Nadene Carter, for reading with an eagle eye and for always encouraging me when I needed it most.

  I owe a large thanks to the extraordinary writing group that is 4Corners. To Jen Blom, Heidi Yantzi, Brit Lary, Erin Halm, Kerri O'Connell and Marcia Keyser, there are no words to express how much you mean to me. Thank you for the many times you've read this, for your critiques, suggestions, and encouragement. But mostly for the friendships. I look forward to many more toasts at the beach house!

  Thank you, Tommy Hague, for asking the question that started this whole process. Without you, I might have forgotten the dream.

  Thanks to my parents, Rollin and Diana Van Broekhoven, for raising me to believe I could do and be whatever I wanted, and for seeing in me the writer I sometimes lost sight of. You are the best parents a girl could have!

  Thank you, Gretchen, for being one of my first readers and for calling me while reading it to say, "That's exactly what it's like!"

  Thanks to the scores of parents who opened their hearts to help me understand what it feels like to be the parent of a diabetic child. Your stories of diagnosis, hospitals, comas, worries, and 504s give Babs's experiences authenticity, and I hope I did justice to the struggles you face each day.

  Most of all, thank you to my family: to Todd, Ian, Emily and Adalyne. You sacrificed more than I'd care to recall to help me chase my dream. This book is your accomplishment as much as it is mine. I love you all!

  Table of Contents

  Some Kind of Normal