Mom cowering upstairs / after the beating / she grasping the hammer / twelve years of Sunday School / and still she was torn / between honoring her father / and killing him. Peggy Schimmelman's book, "Crazytown," offers an honest and perceptive look at some of the harsh realities of life. Her poignant perspective on the fallout of relationships and the interior wrestling match between our thoughts, desires and emotions is metaphorically expressed in her poems. This is a powerful book that is destined to have an impact on all who read it. Kevin N. Gunn - Poet Laureate, Livermore