Growing up, Shawn Thornton's life was anything but NORMAL—but then, so was his mother.
After waking from a coma following a car crash, Beverly Thornton's once-gentle disposition had been replaced by violent mood swings, profanity-laced tirades, and uncontrollable fits of rage. A moment of frustration might prompt her to hurl a knife at Shawn, his brother, Troy, or their dad, or to vehemently cuss them out, only to shower them with love and affection moments later as though nothing had happened. On several occasions, Bev even tried to jump out of the car on the highway while Shawn and his brother struggled to keep her inside.
Yet this same woman was also a devoted Bible reader, Sunday school teacher, and friend to the elderly, poor, and the marginalized wherever she went. How the same woman could be a saint one minute and a nightmare the next was a constant source of frustration for the family.
Then one day, a surprise discovery finally helps the Thornton family come to grips with Bev's mysterious condition and brings Shawn to a startling realization that changes the course of his life forever.
A heart-warming coming-of-age story, All But Normal is a powerful reminder that sometimes the broken people in our lives are the ones who need fixing the least.
