How All This Started Author:Pete Fromm The long-awaited debut novel from award-winning memoirist and short-story writer Pete FrommAbilene and Austin, a sister and brother, were named for the Texas towns where they were conceived, during their parents' footloose years. But their parents traded those traveling days to raise a family, settling on an isolated patch of desert in the shado... more »w of an abandoned WWII bomber base, a place Abilene and Austin grow up relying on each other to escape.To overcome the stark immensity of the West Texas landscape, Abilene pins her hopes on making Austin a pitching phenomenon--a "fireballer" who will eclipse even the legendary Nolan Ryan. Abilene's seductive exuberance, however, soon takes on a darker cast. As she drives them beyond the edges of sanity, it becomes uncertain whether Abilene and Austin will survive her manic dreams.Introducing one of the most memorable female characters in contemporary literature, How All This Started portrays with strength and subtlety the heart-wrenching struggles of a family dealing with manic depression, and the visceral bond between a brother and his sister.« less