Crazy for the Storm

Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival is a survival memoir by Norman Ollestad. It was first published in 2009 and received a nomination for the 2011 Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award. In the book, Ollestad describes what it was like to be the only survivor of a plane crash as a young boy. Critics praise the book for its messages of determination, love, and strength. Ollestad is a bestselling author. He attended UCLA’s Film School and studied creative writing. His short writings are featured in publication such as Time and Men’s Journal. He’s best known for writing Crazy for the Storm.

Ollestad is only 11 years old when a plane carrying his father, his father’s girlfriend, and Ollestad crashes into the San Gabriel Mountains, California. Crazy for the Storm describes how Ollestad pulled himself from the wreckage and descended the steep mountains without any climbing gear. He made most of the descent alone and he didn’t have warm clothes to protect him from the blizzard conditions.

Ollestad admits that it’s a miracle he survived the crash and got home. To this day, he’s still not entirely sure how he survived and how he found the strength to push on. Ollestad remembers that his father told him to never give up, and he repeated those words over and over in his mind as he descended the mountain. He survived as much for his father as he did for himself.



Before taking readers through the crash and the aftermath, Crazy for the Storm introduces Ollestad and highlights significant events from his childhood. For readers, it’s important to understand who Ollestad’s father was and how he affected Ollestad. Although Ollestad loved his father, he admits that he didn’t have an easy childhood.

Ollestad’s father, also called Norman, loved adventure. He made Ollestad take up wild and daring sports such as downhill skiing and surfing. As a child, all Ollestad wants to do is have fun with his friends. Instead, Norman makes him train and compete all the time. Shortly before the fatal plane crash, Ollestad wins the Southern California Slalom Skiing Championship. Ollestad describes a childhood spent living up to other people’s expectations.

In Crazy for the Storm, Ollestad takes readers through that fateful day when his life changed forever. He describes the hours before the plane crash and what happened during the flight. On February 18th, 1979, Ollestad wins the skiing championship. He returns to Santa Monica to train with an ice hockey team. On February 19th, Norman and his girlfriend, Sandra, fly from Santa Monica to Big Bear, where Ollestad trains with the skiing team.



Ollestad sometimes worries that he’s to blame for the accident. They’re only flying because Ollestad wants to get back to the skiing resort and collect his trophy quickly. They’re all exhausted and flying seems like the best idea. Ollestad regrets that, if they’d delayed their trip and drove back instead, the accident wouldn’t have happened.

The chartered plane is a Cessna 172. The pilot, Rob, steers the plane over the very slopes Ollestad skied down the day before. Rob’s worried that visibility is poor and that the storm’s making it difficult to clear a flight path, but they press on anyway. They barely make it into the mountains before the plane descends and crashes through the trees, smashing into Ontario Peak and breaking into pieces.

Norman and Rob die almost instantly. Ollestad describes feeling shock, horror, and terror, all at the same time. Thanks to Norman, Ollestad knows that anything is possible, and he just might make it off the mountain alive if he keeps calm and moves fast. He finds Sandra confused and injured, and he drags her from the wreckage. It’s clear, however, that Sandra won’t last the descent. With no adults to guide him, Ollestad must fight his own way off the mountain range.



Looking back, Ollestad realises he suffered badly from survivor’s guilt. As a teenager, he struggled to understand why he survived and someone as strong as Norman didn’t. All he knows is that, without Norman, he’d be dead. Norman was a tough father, but he taught Ollestad the skills he needed to survive in even the harshest conditions.

Now that Ollestad is a father, he wonders how to be a good father to his own son. Although he doesn’t push his son the way Norman pushed him, he understands how important it is to teach children hard lessons. Norman often pushed Ollestad to his limits, mentally and physically, but Ollestad survived each time. Ollestad’s father taught him that anything is possible, and he made Ollestad prove it to himself.

Ultimately, by showing Ollestad what he was capable of, Norman gave his son the mental strength to believe he’d survive the plane crash. Ollestad hopes that he can give his son the same courage, conviction, and self-belief that his father gave him. Ollestad walks the line between safety and danger, and he’s showing his son how to walk that line.