Flawed But Fun: Poems From the Attic (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780972388313)

Nancy Genevieve Tuininga was born in Seattle, Washington in 1937 and has lived in the Pacific Northwest all of her life. She studied English and philosophy at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound in the late '50s and early '60s. In 1966, while married with two children, Nancy suffered a psychotic break and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This resulted in her admission to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and later to Western State Hospital in Steilacoom, Washington. During subsequent further episodes of mental illness, Nancy was admitted to hospitals in Medical Lake and Spokane, Washington. She was married and divorced several times during this period and started to write poetry sporadically. In 1989, while recovering and living in an assisted living center in Auburn, Washington, Nancy began to write poems more seriously, finding it valuable to her recovery and a sustaining passion. She began sharing her poems with friends and family who encouraged her to submit her work for publication. She was first published in October 1990 in Northwest Views. Subsequent publications in local newsletters followed. "Poems from the Attic" is Nancy's first published book.