I was checking out a critique I did for America the Babylon on Amazon recently and thought I would also see what kinds of books Terry has written lately. I was pleasantly surprised to find his poem Sheehan on Amazon's book list. I have not only read Sheehan several times but I also took every one of Terry's English classes at the community college where he teaches and have heard him read Sheehan several times. My copy was destroyed in a fire so I'm having to do this critique from memory.

Terry's guidelines for a good story/poem in his English classes were as follows: Show your spirit, your heart, and your brain; dig to the depths of your soul until it hurts but get your feeling down on paper; force the reader to experience what you've been through; help them to hear what you heard and see what you saw; and to experience your senses. It's your story, write it the way you feel--as if you're never going to show it to anyone else--you can always take it out later. And last but not least--truth is better than facts. Terry's poem Sheehan encompasses all of the above because this author practices what he preaches.

The thing I liked most about this poem is the immense love that this person in the poem has for Sheehan, his son, and how he dealt with an enormous heartbreak that splintered his hopes and dreams for this child. This poem relays the struggle it took for him to finally come to grips with the facts, accept what is, and move forward with his life. It shows how one man weathered an enormous trial through being honest with himself, admitting his fears, and conquering a desire for revenge on others as well as himself. I think it is this person's vulnerability and honesty that grabs you by the heart and draws you into the story. You cannot NOT have strong empathy for the person in this poem, because this story relays the struggles a lot of us can relate to.

The strong visual imagery of this poem is enhanced by the artwork which adequately portrays what your heart will be feeling as you read this book--if it were possible to draw feelings. If you can read this poem without your heart jumping in a thousand different directions then you're a prime target for a heart transplant. I recommend you buy the booklet and then go to Spokane and listen to Terry read the poem in person. I give it a 4.0 And no, he didn't pay me to write this critique--I haven't talked to him for about 5 years. (E)LE

In the book,Stuck In Neutral, by Terry Trueman, the main character is Shawn McDaniel. Shawn was born with cerebral palsy so severe that his body has no muscle control whatsoever. He lives at home with his mother and sister, but his father is only a visitor since his parents are divorced. Unknown to everyone around Shawn, he has an extremely, incredable memory.

Shawn fears that his father wants to kill him. Shawn has some very upsetting experiences while with his father. Shawn's father feels that his son suffers a lot of pain and misery. He expresses these feelings through Pulitzer prize winning poems that he has written and read to Shawn.

The book was fairly good except the ending left me hanging. They never revealed whether or not Shawn's father actually did kill him. I give this book three stars.

This book is called Stuck In Neutral and it's by Terry Trueman. This book is about a family trying to cope with the fact that there son/brother Shawn has the worst type of Cerebral Palsy. He cannot move any body part or muscle. Shawn thinks that his father wants to kill him because he talks about it, he wrote a poem about it and he interviewed a guy who did kill his son that had Cerebral Palsy and Shawn's dad he agrees with him. They both said no one's child should suffer no matter what happens or what you need to do to end it weather you kill them or not. As the book goes on Shawn's sister and brother begin to wonder if their father is planning to kill Shawn. Both brother and sister agreed that their dad had to go threw them before he could kill Shawn. Shawn doesn't know for sure if he is okay with dieing or not. But he knows that if his dad is going to do something it will be soon. If you want to find out about the ending you have to read the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a book that keeps you on the edge of your set. I would also recommended this book to anyone who knows anyone that has Cerebral Palsy.

This book, "Stuck in Neutral" but Terry Trueman is really wonderful. It makes you think about the person in the wheelchair, not just the fact they are there. The thing I found most intresting though, is that Terry Trueman's son, Sheehan has cerebral palsy. It makes you think how closely knit he is with this story. For he could put himself in the fathers shoes, and relate so closely with Shawn. I feel this is a great book and very intresting to read and learn from. My one problem is its length, I feel like 114 pages just isn't enough for this complex character. I guess you can only let it go so long, when you have a main character that cannot do anything but think. I loved this book and would reccomend it to anyone who seems intrested, its deffinetly a wonderful read and an adventure through one couragous boys mind.

Boys are worth it. They do deserve just as much fuss and time as our girls. The interest has peaked on this topic and the author's aren't living up to their potential. Slow down authors. We will wait for sincere and more weighted guidelines for our sons. For parents who want to raise thinking, creative and caring children (especially boys) consider other worthy words from two other great books: "Loneliness in Childhood and Adolescence," and ''MOMMY-CEO,'' (not at all what you're thinking but great in sharing the little but important stuff) and both are easy friendly reading.

This book is an excellent idea. However, the authors left out what I have found to be the best one for our sons AND OUR DAUGHTERS. Add the book, "West Point" by Norman Thomas Remick to your list (in fact, this should be first as it gives the basics). It's a veritable education in character and leadership.

This book is a small-but-potent guide to finding positive entertainment amid all the negativity and violence that's in the movies and television today. I'll take Gurian's suggestions over Doom or the WWF anytime. It outlines 100 movies and 100 books for all age ranges, and my family has benefited from it.