Dear Veronica, Define Normal (Paperback)

Susannah Savannah Stevens is at her breaking point. Raised by a lovingly absent father and social climbing mother, Susannah wanted nothing more than to be free of their perfectly manicured grasp and ever watching eye. That is, after all, why she was making plans to run away with her high school sweetheart. Two cold feet later, she made the most devastating decision of her life - she didn't go with him. A choice that, after a decade, still gives her nightmares and preoccupies her disillusioned daydreams. Now living in the bustling and exciting city of New York, Susannah finds herself less than enthralled with her so-called life. And having recently turned down yet another proposal of wedded bliss to a man who could have easily been in the running for most eligible bachelor of the century, Susannah tried desperately to fall off the face of the Earth. Of course, that only caused her mother to mandate that she attend weekly psychiatric sessions. After all, there must be something horribly wrong with anyone who would turn down the opportunity to be a trophy wife to such a rich and powerful man. So Susannah humors her mother and attends regular sessions with 'the witch woman'. Answering a personal ad doesn't seem like Susannah's idea of mental help but she is pleasantly surprised when her forced therapy leads her to Veronica - a faceless name with a bad attitude, and in the end Susannah's only real confidante. Through their anonymous correspondence, and a series of humorously humiliating events, Susannah begins to accept the fact that her life has so not turned out the way she planned. Maybe flashbacks, stalkers, and shrinks don't exactly spell normal; but what is normal anyway?