Chrystal Caudill

Chasing Normal Chrystal Caudill

When a girl falls in love with the man she believes can give her the traditional life she desires, she sacrifices everything to make her dreams come true. Brad has it all. He is handsome, popular, and charismatic. Who could resist his many charms? In desperate pursuit of the normal life she believes Brad can give to her, she tries her best to be everything he wants-- a devoted wife, lover, and mother--but it is never enough. For a decade, she devotes every moment of every day to his happiness. Slowly, she realizes that in addition to the loss of her youth, she has also sacrificed much more to maintain the illusion of a perfect marriage. After drastically altering her life just to be near him, she starts to see through his gossamer-thin promises. But try as she might to hold her head up as evidence of Brad's moral defects mounts, her sense of self weakens. Unaware of how deeply she is being damaged and how blatantly she has been deceived, she must make a choice. Will she abandon her fantasy of the traditional nuclear family so she can reclaim her long-forgotten self-worth? Or will she continue to languish at the hands of a toxic man? She is a simple girl who just wanted something better. And despite it all, her journey is one filled with surprisingly sharp humor, raw honesty-- and optimism.