Macon Jefferys tells a story that reads like part memoir/part confession. "Crazy Man" is the inspiring and riveting story of one man's uncompromising struggle with mental illness during an era when treatment of "crazy people" was not that far removed from the snake pits of insane asylums.

A lonely reporter on a southern daily newspaper becomes obsessed with a beautiful young woman only to find himself entangled in the bleak life of a prostitute. The complicated relationship is mired in a small city's political shenanigans and journalistic ambivalences.

The reporter wrestles with his tangled feelings and a society's mixed morality while working at a career that has dominated his existence.

Complicating his life more is interactions with fellow workers who have serious personal problems of their own. The book explores the difficulty of finding an honest and moral position...