Novelist Lynne Sharon Schwartz.

The author's new book, about a fifteen year old girl's longing for adventure, takes the form of a memoir -- but the story is invented. Schwartz joins Fresh Air to talk about her protagonist's sexuality and the boundless power of fiction.

She is the author of the best-selling book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, about the horse who became a racetrack sensation in the 1930s. Her book is the basis of the new film starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper. The New York Times called the book, "a captivating story... with the detail of good history, the blistering pace of Seabiscuit himself, and the charm of grand legend." Hillenbrand has chronic fatigue syndrome and during the writing of Seabiscuit, she almost never left her home. She has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 15 years.

Benjamin Natelson is a neurologist who directs the New Jersey Chronic Fatigue Center. He's just written "Facing and Fighting Fatigue: A Practical Approach." (Yale University Press) He specializes in treating chronic fatigue syndrome. He says that while many people think CFS is all in their heads, there is actually a physiological component to the condtion.