Gone and Back Again

Caley’s family is on the move again. His mother and stepfather have made another in a series of bad decisions, and once again, Caley, his older brother Fulton, and little sister Louise are pulling up stakes. With each move, Caley’s mental state grows a little worse. This time they’re living in Naples, Florida, where Caley’s stepfather has finally found a job. Sad and confused, Caley attributes his problems to Star Trek, the glow from his clock radio, anything but the root cause: family dynamics, including his love/hate relationship with Fulton. Working together at a Pancake Palace, the simmering tension between the two boys finally explodes. The episode cracks the pall of sadness that has enveloped Caley for so long, enabling him to understand the journey, both literal and figurative, that the family has taken. Written from a survivor’s standpoint, Gone and Back Again describes Caley’s descent into severe depression with humor, hope, and poignancy.

J. Scott Fuqua is also known as Jonathon Scott Fuqua. Fuqua is the author of four multi award-winning young adult novels: The Reappearance of Sam Webber, Darby, The Willoughby Spit Wonder, King of the Pygmies. He has also written two highly acclaimed literary novels: In the Wake of the Boatman, Gone and Back Again; and the award-winning graphic novel In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe.

Fucqua writes living history plays for the Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Maryland Historical Society, two of which were honored at the National Theater in Washington DC last spring. He has won three Maryland State Arts Council writing awards and teaches writing and illustration as the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He gives talks all over the country about writing with dyslexia, surviving with bipolar, and lectures on how to write and put together cool stories, both traditional and none traditional (graphic novels, illustrated novels, children’s books) for students from elementary school to college.