Terry Crylen’s thirty-five years in the mental health field, thirty of them in private practice as a PhD Licensed Clinical Psychologist, served to enrich her understanding and appreciation for the emotional power of the mother-daughter relationship. A graduate of Northwestern University, her career in mental health focused largely on working with adolescent girls and adult women presenting with clinical depression, anxiety, and complex mood disorders. A lifelong Chicagoan, she is committed to supporting community efforts aimed at creating opportunities for the city’s economically disadvantaged youth and is an ardent supporter of the arts. Along with her husband, Phil, Terry is also a “frequent flyer,” devoted to maintaining strong ties with family—most of whom are scattered across the US. When not on the road or writing, she can be found hanging out with four-legged friends or with her nose in a good book. She lives in Chicago, IL.
Limned by a deft storyteller with a fresh voice, In Pursuit of Radio Mom pulls off a tremendous challenge: it makes empathetic Crylen's sojourn away from and back to her remote and bitter mother, as well as revealing her subsequent brave battle to loosen her grasp on her anorexic and suicidal daughter. Her background as a clinical psychologist, here unmasked, inspires both her candor and her tenderness. Bravo! -Linda Gray Sexton, best-selling author of Searching For Mercy Street: My Journey Back To My Mother, Anne Sexton As Terry's colleague of twenty-five years, I have witnessed her dedication to a career investigating the lives of others. Her ability to interweave clinical expertise with personal experience is a rare gift. This is a riveting story of the transformative power of truth and love, shared with astounding empathy. -Roxanne I. Levin, PhD