This image is the cover for the book Behind These Hands

Behind These Hands

In this novel told in verse, 14-year-old Claire Fairchild struggles to reconcile her own musical success with the Batten disease that will claim the lives of her two younger brothers. When Claire meets a centenarian with only one regret, she knows she’ll have to change, but she’ll need her friends to help her find her courage.

Linda Vigen Phillips

Linda Vigen Phillips' passion is creating realistic fiction that offers hope to teens and their families who face mental or physical health challenges. Her debut book, Crazy, depicts the struggles of a teenage girl in the 1960' s coming to terms with her mother's bipolar disorder. It earned such accolades in 2015 as lndieFab Book of the Year Finalist, short-list for SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and Honor book for Paterson Prize for Books. Like Crazy, Heart Behind These Hands is a Young Adult verse novel. When her brothers are diagnosed with Batten Disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that will bring early death, piano-prodigy Clair must decide how to deal with the ticking clock, her own dreams, and the need for a celebration of life. Linda enjoys advocating for better mental health through her involvement with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI}, conducting writing workshops, and spending time with her grandkids. She lives in Charlotte, NC where she and her husband love to sit on the screened porch to watch the grass grow.

Light Messages Publishing