Where Do I Begin?
I used to try to be normal. I longed to be normal. I wanted to be like the other kids at school--pretty, popular, easy-going. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fit in. Part of it was me. I was shy and withdrawn. But the biggest problem was that my family belonged to a church that borders on being a cult. When you grow up in that weird, airless environment of a small Midwestern, fundamentalist church, you can never be normal. Your life can never be like the lives of your friends or the people you meet. You will always be on the outside looking in. You will never fit in with the wider culture, no matter how hard you try. This is my story of how I got out of that church and learned to stand on my own two feet. I'm still not normal, but at least I escaped with my sanity and my soul. Normal is not an option....