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

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

, 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 Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, Trueman has lived in

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

since 1974. He also had a home in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

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 the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 establi ...

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 college, public community college in Shoreline, Washington. It is located in a residential area east of Boeing Creek and Shoreview Park, Shoreview Park. The college contains over 80 acres and continuously ...

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 ...

in the following couple years, prior to enrolling at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

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 control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...

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, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. 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 Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...

. 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