Inside th

e

book!

Read about Jonathan

Friesen pg.9

Celebrities you may

know who have

Tourettespg.6

Table of Contents

Tourettes……………………………Pg. 4-5

Celebrities

With tourettes…………………………Pg. 6

California……………………………..Pg. 7

About the

Author……………………………….Pg. 9-10

OUT NOW!!!

Another novel from Jonathan Friesen.

The Author of Jerk California!

Tourette syndrome is a heredi-

tary disarray of the nervous

system, distinguished by a

changeable appearance of dis-

carded movements and noises.

Tourette's once was consid-

ered a rare and bizarre syn-

drome, most often associated

with the exclamation of inde-

cent words or socially inappro-

priate and offensive remarks,

but that symptom is present in

only a small minority of peo-

ple with Tourette's. (http://

www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/

tourette/detail_tourette.htm)

According to the National

Institute of Neurological disor-

ders and Stroke the cause of

Tourette syndrome is un-

known, although some studies

suggest that the tics in

Tourette syndrome are caused

by an increased amount of a

neurotransmitter called dopa-

mine. A neurotransmitter is a

chemical

found in the brain that helps to

transmit information from one

brain cell to another. Other

studies suggest that the defect

in Tourette syndrome involves

another neurotransmitter

called serotonin, or involves

other chemicals required for

normal functioning of the

brain. The first symptoms usu-

ally involve involuntary move-

ments of the face, arms, limbs

or trunk. These tics are fre-

quent, repetitive and rapid.

Although Tourette syndrome

symptoms are involuntary,

some people can sometimes

suppress, camouflage, or oth-

erwise manage their tics in an

effort to minimize their impact

on functioning such as yawn-

ing after a tic in their mouth.

Eventually though people with

Tourette syndrome often re-

port a substantial build up in

tension when suppressing their

tics to the point where they

feel that the tic must be ex-

pressed. Other related symp-

toms are difficulties with read-

ing, writing, and arithmetic;

and obsessive-compulsive

symptoms such as intrusive

thoughts/worries and repetitive

behaviours. An example

would be worries about dirt

and germs may be associated

with repetitive hand-washing,

and concerns about bad things

happening may be associated

with ritualistic behaviours

such as counting, repeating, or

rearranging. All students with

Tourette syndrome need a tol-

erant and compassionate set-

ting that both encourages them

to work to their full potential

and is flexible enough to ac-

commodate their special

needs. This setting may in-

Tourettes

Syndrome:

Early symptoms

Dealing with it

Support Groups

Author: Jon Higgins

Vocal tic severity

regular classroom, or even oral

exams when the child's symp-

toms interfere with his or her

ability to write. (http://

www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/

tourette/detail_tourette.htm)

As Tourette syndrome often

goes undiagnosed, no precise

number can be given of how

many have it. Tourette syn-

drome is listed as a "rare dis-

ease" by the Office of Rare

Diseases of the National Insti-

tutes of Health, some over

200,000 in the United States

alone are known to have the

disorder. "According to cur-

rent best estimates, Tourette

Syndrome affects approxi-

mately 6 of every 1,000

schoolchildren." (NIH Confer-

ence, 2006).

Tourette Syndrome founda-

tion of Canada states

“Although there is no cure for

Tourette syndrome really at

the moment some actually be-

come symptom-free or no

longer need medication for tic

suppression.”

There are several groups

making an effort towards help-

ing people with Tourette syn-

drome, including “Tourette’s

Action” is a charity working to

make life better for people

with Tourette syndrome.

“Tourette’s Action” is the

UK’s leading support and re-

search charity for people with

Tourette syndrome and their

families. Join them on their

biggest ever fund raising chal-

lenge, skydive for free! On

July 30th with people all over

the country!!! They need our

support to support children

and adults with Tourette Syn-

drome, provide information to

teachers, doctors and social

workers, and promote research

into therapies and treatments.

Please contact fundrais-

ing@tourettes-action.org.uk

for more information. They

rely on nothing more than vol-

untary support where they are

not supported by the govern-

ment, a great way you can help

is by requesting a Tourette’s

action money box. Also, if in-

terested you are welcome to

apply as there are now jobs

available, thank you. For more

information please visit http://

www.tourettes-action.org.uk/

research/ or call 0845 458

1252. And they thank every-

one for your support. There

are several groups making an

effort towards helping people

with Tourette syndrome, in-

cluding “Tourette’s Action” is

a charity working to make life

better for people with Tourette

syndrome. “Tourette’s Action”

is the UK’s leading support

and research charity for people

with Tourette syndrome and

their families. Join them on

their biggest ever fund raising

challenge, skydive for free!

On July 30th with people all

over the country!!! They need

our support to support children

and adults with Tourette Syn-

drome, provide information to

teachers, doctors and social

workers, and promote research

into therapies and treatments.

Please contact fundrais-

ing@tourettes-action.org.uk

for more information. They

rely on nothing more than vol-

untary support where they are

not supported by the govern-

ment, a great way you can help

is by requesting a Tourette’s

action money box. Also, if in-

terested you are welcome to

apply as there are now jobs

available, thank you. For more

information please visit http://

www.tourettes-action.org.uk/

research/ or call 0845 458

1252. And they thank every-

one for your support.

Tourettes Action logo

Tourette’s can affect anyone. There are many other celebrities you may happen to know who

have Tourette syndrome: Tim Howard, Howard Hughes, Marc Summers, Dan Ackroyd and

David Beckham.

Tim Howard, known as Tim Dawg, managed to become the goal keeper for Manchester

United of England in spite of having Tourette syndrome. Tim quotes “It’s just a battle of the

will”, he just constantly fights what his mind tells his body to do, he has been capable of shut-

ting out tourettes.

Howard Hughes was one of the richest men yet he was ill, and suffered from tourettes.

Marc Summers suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, everything has to be a certain

way, and nothing else would work.

Dan was diagnosed with tourette's and asperger syndromes at an early age, but the symptoms

seem to have disappeared when he was around 14. When he was a preteen there was no such

thing as Asperger syndrome in the 1960s.

David suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it shows from constant cleanliness

and perfection of all that is around him. Anything out of order is enough to cause a conflict

and must be attended to immediately.

Just because you have Tourette syndrome doesn’t mean you can’t do or become anything, that

definetly is not the case because there are ways of coping with it or things you may love to do

that you actually can do.

Celebrities with

Tourettes

Author: Jon Higgins

Hundreds of amazing sites and One amazing

California is found on the west side of the United States with the pacific

ocean on one side, Nevada and Arizona on the other, south of Oregon and to the

north of Mexico. California is home to about 37 million people and is still growing.

California is one of the richest and divers parts of the world, and includes some of

the most endangered ecological communities.

The capital of California is Sacramento. It is located just north of Califor-

nia's central valley and has a population of 466,676 and is the sixth largest city in

California. There were definitely more city`s in the race for the shot at the right for

capitol suck as Los Angela's, San Francisco, san Jose and even Anaheim.

Nothing compares to the amazing sites of California, from the breathtaking

shores to the mountains of Hollywood. Would you want to be anywhere els?

Author: Patrick Chiasson

CUSTOM SOLUTIONS

California The Golden State

Some other novels by Jonathan Friesen!

5 Star Rating!

$8.99- Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook

(Mar. 22, 2011) by Jonathan Friesen

inspired him to write

the novel.

Jonathan Friesen says, “If

you ask most people

about their life, they

don’t begin with fifth

grade. But that was a

good year. Illness

changed that.” He re-

treated into a shell and

escaped into words.

Writing a story sucked

the pain out of him, at

least for a while. That’s

when he learned to

“feel” on paper. Jona-

than Friesen didn’t

think he’d be an au-

thor, he didn’t think

he’d be much of any-

thing, he was simply

writing to survive. His

life changed in college.

Hiss health returned,

the cloud lifted, and he

got his teaching li-

cense. Being a teacher,

and being with those

kids healed Jonathan.

Surrounded by them,

he relived periods of

time stolen by child-

hood sickness. He was

in his glory. But he

couldn’t escape story-

telling. All those years

expressing himself on

paper left their

mark. While his stu-

dents worked, he wrote

at his desk. Jerk Califor-

nia, Friesen’s first book

flowed out of his own

Jonathan Friesen is a

YA author, speaker,

and youth writing

coach from Mora, Min-

nesota. His first young

adult novel “Jerk, Cali-

fornia” about a teen

coming to terms with

Tourette’s Syndrome

which was released in

September of 2008 and

he received the ALA

Schneider Award . Jona-

than Friesen loves to

write for the younger

crowd and regularly

contribute to Club-

house Magazine and

Clubhouse Jr. When he

is not writing, speaking

at schools, or teaching,

he likes to travel and

hang out with his fam-

ily.

Jonathan Friesen lives

in northern Minnesota

on a small farm with

his wife and three chil-

dren, and a growing

number of animals. He

believes in journneys,

and his have carried

him around the globe.

Jonathan’s passion is

coaching gifted young

writers in the art of

fiction. His personal

experiences with

Tourette’s Syndrome

Jonathan

Author: Sally Kim

Introducing Jonathan Friesen, the author

of the book “Jerk, California”. His life and

career, and some of his quotes.

Jonathan Friesen

loves contests. On

his twitter website,

he wrote “I love

contests. I won the

first one I ever

entered. I had to

draw "Cubby," this

cute little bear

from the TV guide.

Yep, I won $25,

which in 1973

bought a lot of

baseball cards. The

draw Cubby people

said I had a future

in the visual arts. I

don't know about

that. I do know

writing has worked

out pretty well.”

Also Jonathan

Friesen wrote how

he feels about

“What could be

worse?”. Jonathan

Friesen wrote,

What could be

worse than endur-

ing a bad soccer

game . . .Watching

a good game in

which your son is

playing well . .

.And having him

play on multiple

teams . . .And

watching gas hit

3.79 while you

barely clear 25

mpg . . .And hand-

ing the gas station

I look around at my close

friends now, years later.

I’m not in contact with

anyone from high school

and only one guy from

college, but my life is

filled with great friend-

ships—the kind everyone

looks like they have in

high school but few actu-

ally do. School ends, the

wind blows people every

which way. When that

wind dies down, there will

be someone there for you.

Q: The power of names to

define a person is an im-

portant issue in the book.

What has been the impor-

tance of names in your

own life?

A: I think a name can

shape a life. It can also be

a marker in the road. I

was born Jonathan, but

Q: Jack’s/Sam’s story

is often heartbreak-

ing, especially when it

comes to his difficul-

ties fitting in at school

and his lack of mean-

ingful friendships.

Sadly, ostracism and

even bullying is not

uncommon among

high school students.

Do you have any ad-

vice for teens strug-

gling with these chal-

lenges?

A: High school ends.

A speaker told us on

day one of ninth

grade, “These are the

best days of your life.”

I heard that again

during my freshman

year at college. I re-

member thinking, he

better be lying, be-

cause this is more

nightmare than dream.

nobody called me that. I

was Jon, or John-Boy, or

Jonno, or whatever. I think

nicknames are great. They

make a person feel spe-

cial. But after a disastrous

college relationship, I

wanted to put everything

behind me. It’s as if I

wanted to take a shower

and wash off everything

about myself and who I’d

been, including the name

I’d been called: Jon. I re-

claimed Jonathan. It’s my

true name, my true self,

and reclaiming it made

me feel new again.

Q: Acceptance, both of

yourself and of others, is

a major theme in Jerk,

California. Tell us why

this was an important

message for you to con-

vey in writing this novel.

A: If you’re a hider, like I

when I was five. Eye

blinks and shoulder

jumps. Early on, those

movements didn’t affect

me much. My peers didn’t

make a big deal of them.

But in junior high, those

tics (and my dishonesty

about them) began affect-

ing relationships. By high

school, school was a

lonely place. But again,

my attitude about TS, and

not the syndrome itself,

deserves a fair amount of

credit for that.

Q: The romance between

Naomi and Sam/Jack is

sometimes sweet, some-

times frustrating, but

always very true-to-life.

Was their romance based

on any in your own life?

A: Oh sure. Dating my

wife was the most irritat-

ingly wonderful experi-

Interview

Q: Your biography men-

tions that, like Sam/Jack

from the book JERK, CALI-

FORNIA, you also have

Tourette Syndrome. How

much of Sam’s/Jack’s

story is your own? What is

your personal history with

the disorder? At what age

did symptoms first ap-

pear? How did that affect

you growing up?

A: Sam’s story is com-

pletely fictitious, but his

internal struggle with

Tourette Syndrome mir-

rors my own quite closely.

He is much more honest

with himself than I was—I

had a hard time accepting

the fact that I couldn’t

stop my movements.

Somewhere, I had picked

up the idea that I should

be able to stop them. My

symptoms first appeared

Q: Sam’s/Jack’s relation-

ship with George is touch-

ing and sincere. George

came along just when

Sam most needed some-

one to believe in him.

Were there any influential

people in your own life

who helped guide you?

A: My grandma had the

rare ability to build me up

and kick me in the rear at

the very same time. If

you’ve never had this type

of person in your life, it’s

quite an experience. One

minute she would tell me

what she saw in me, how

proud she was of me.

Then, bam! She’d let me

have it, and point out all

the areas in which I had

more growing to do. But I

listened to her, because I

knew she loved me and I

was certain she believed

in me. She was a powerful

guide in my life.

came up with the song. I

heard it and my jaw

dropped because they

nailed it—the mood, the

feeling. I was shocked.

Halloween, Alaska did a

great job.

Q: Where do you find

inspiration for your char-

acters and stories?

A: Every story of mine

contains an element lifted

from real life. I need to

understand an aspect of a

character, or a piece of

the plot. Once I find that

interesting detail, my

imagination takes over. I

stick that familiar piece

into a situation or charac-

ter I know nothing about

and start asking, “what if.”

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Jerk,

THE NEXT BIG

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ARE YOU IN?

Published May 9th

Authors: Jon Higgins, Patrick Chaisson, Sally Kim