Degree of Normal

Publisher: Robert Reed Publishers

At her mother’s funeral, Jocelyn makes a startling discovery—she has an aunt, her mother’s sister. Not only does this woman offer college-student Jocelyn much needed employment, but Aunt Paula holds the key to unlocking family secrets, secrets Jocelyn needs to confront.

With the help of her best friend Alex, Jocelyn begins a journey of knocking down inner walls she has erected from years of abuse. The question is—will those broken walls free her or bury her? And what about this new-found aunt, a restaurateur/artist who signs her paintings “Charlie”?

In this psychological novel, enter the world of  trauma survival through dissociation and redemption through love and courage. 

This mental health issue (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is complex and a difficult topic to undertake in a fictional book.  I applaud the author  for taking on this subject.  ~ Dr. Debra Johnson, MD

About Barbara Harken

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara Harken was raised in Chicago and moved to Iowa at the age of sixteen. She teaches writing at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and, in her spare time, dabbles in art. Barbara and her husband, Bob, have two adult sons, two grandchildren, and two patient daughters-in-law. This is her third novel.

Other Novels by Barbara Harken

The 86th Degree

A Story of Abuse, Rejection, and Healing

“Harken introduces the reader to the foundational issues of child abuse, verbal and physical, and the paradigm shift in philosophical, psychological, and legal implications being faced in our society today. Conflict, resolution, and more conflict keep the reader glued to the pages of this important novel which creates a social awareness and critique of the problems of abusive relationships and the importance of the availability of emotional caregivers.”
~ Richard Blake

Degree of Guilt

A mystery novel about a woman defending her grandfather’s name who must brave insults, pranks, and assaults on her life to find the truth and ensure justice—with the help of a ghost whit his own agenda.

“I loved it! Mystery, romance, honest sentiment all with a touch of Stephen King.” ~ Leta Magee

“Couldn’t put it down.” ~ Janice Olejnik

“Unraveling a Mystery in the Northwoods.” ~ Richard Hansen

“A guilty pleasure.” ~ Janet Withers

detail

Binding EAN ISBN-10 Pub Date PAGES Language Size Price
Paperback 9781944297107 1944297103 2017-04-01 264 0.00 x 6.00 x 9.00 in $16.95

Publicity

Connect

Multimedia

Contributor Platforms

Recent Press

Promo Quotes

Events

Book Signings and Tour Cities

INVISIBLE: Surviving the Cambodian Genocide

INVISIBLE: Surviving the Cambodian Genocide

by Pilch, Frances T

“The challenge was not just to survive, but to survive without losing our humanity.” ~ Mac and Simone LengThe Cambodian Genocide claimed the lives of an estimated two million people – more than one-fourth of the total Cambodian population...

read more
Degree of Normal

Degree of Normal

by Harken, Barbara

At her mother’s funeral, Jocelyn makes a startling discovery—she has an aunt, her mother’s sister. Not only does this woman offer college-student Jocelyn much needed employment, but Aunt Paula holds the key to unlocking family secrets, secrets Jocelyn needs to confront...

read more
The Shattering II

The Shattering II

by Barth, Marsha

The Shattering II is a compelling true story (but written in novel form) of healing from childhood sexual abuse. It is a story of the power of love, the promise of hope, and the inspiration of knowing that we are not defined by our circumstances.  Readers are held in suspense and will find their hearts forever touched by this inspiring story. Healing is a journey...

read more
Teaching School is a Scream!

Teaching School is a Scream!

by Woods-Knight, Judy

What do you do when you don't know what to do?While Teaching School is a Scream! is a helping guidebook designed to fill a desperate need for substitute teachers in school districts all over America, the sound advice inside this work should also help new school teachers,  parents, grandparents, homeschoolers, Scout Leaders, Sunday School teachers, and anyone wishing...

read more
From the Heart

From the Heart

by Modena, Alejandro

From the Heart is an appropriate title for this book as Alejandro Modena reveals, with stark emotion, the challenges of growing up in poverty in a mixed and ever-changing culture where the primary imperative was to survive...

read more
My Story in Black and White

My Story in Black and White

by Thomas, Jesse O.

Second tier men like Jesse O. Thomas  finalized the dreams of mega stars like Booker T. Washington, Mary Mcleod Bethune, and Eugene Kinkle Jones."My Story in Black and Whiteis an engrossing picture of Negro-white relationships as seen through the eyes of an active participant in the drama of race relations in America for more than half a century. The life story that Jesse O...

read more
HOLLYWOOD From Below the Line

HOLLYWOOD From Below the Line

by Levine, Steven

HOLLYWOOD From Below the Line: A Prop Master's Perspective Steven M. Levine, a veteran Hollywood property master, through both humorous recollections and poignant stories, not only takes the reader onto a Hollywood set as a

read more
The Sacred Art of Clowning... and Life!

The Sacred Art of Clowning... and Life!

by Reed, Cleone Lyvonne

How does one move out of an abusive marriage and transform her thinking so that she can manifest a wonderful marriage based on love, mutuality, and respect? That is the journey that Cleone took, starting with her debut as Chloe the Clown in 1994...

read more
Jumping Over the Moon

Jumping Over the Moon

by Monnen, E Dee

Did you ever set a goal so high that you needed to jump over the moon in order to reach it? That's the exciting theme of JUMPING OVER THE MOON. The novel is about life and love, and there also is some great baseball action with a team made up of Lakota Indians. The story's main character, Phineas, has a generous heart, but it's also a heart that's failing...

read more
Chez Paradise

Chez Paradise

by Murrin, Gerard

After a horrific fire levels the gorgeous Sonoma Valley villa they had rented, vacationing friends scramble to find alternative accommodations. They laugh their way through a series of snafus until their situation turns suddenly dire when a woman in their party goes missing...

read more
Consensual Consequences

Consensual Consequences

by Gilmore, Lynn

CONSENSUAL CONSEQUENCES is the gripping true story of how one woman fell in love with a registered sex offender.This captivating story profiles the life of an average American family who is living a not-so-average life. Lynn was an educated woman who found herself in a dead-end marriage, and after much soul searching she realized what she must do...

read more
Hobo Sapien

Hobo Sapien

by Iverson, Wayne

Garrison Keillor meets Jack Kerouac meets Mahatma Gandhi in this wry, roadwise scripture. Hobo Sapien is a series of freight train parables born out of the author's twelve-plus years riding freight trains, combined with lessons learned in his seven-year stint as a Self-Realization Fellowship monk, plus the added bonus of fascinating railroad history...

read more
SHOOTING THE MAILBOX

SHOOTING THE MAILBOX

by Curkendall, Dave

Huck Finn meets Jack Kerouac. In this true adventure story, three farm boys run away from their homes in Upstate New York all the way to California to escape the consequences of a mailbox shooting incident. The year was 1952; the road is Route 66; Dave, Mack, and Ed were 16...

read more
Angel on Call

Angel on Call

by Rothschild, Helene

Enjoy a precious, invaluable, divine gift from Helene Rothschild, psychotherapist, spiritual teacher/healer, and channel. Be inspired by her fascinating true story of how she became an Angel on Calland walks with the angelic beings in trust, faith, ease, and grace. Experience the loving, channeled messages from Sananda (the Spirit of Jesus), Mother Mary, and the Arcturians...

read more
Gringa in a Strange Land

Gringa in a Strange Land

by Dahl, Linda

Gringa in a Strange Land brings back the counterculture of the early 70's, an exhilarating and confusing time for so many young people then. Erica Mason, an American woman living in Mexico, is torn between working to become an artist and the lure of the drug culture...

read more
The Quander Quality

The Quander Quality

by W, James W.

Diabetes can be a devastating disease, causing multiple degenerative conditions over the course of a person's life. Juvenile diabetes can be especially difficult because it strikes children. To live for 80 years with diabetes is a triumph that could only result from dedicated self-discipline, determination, and tenacity. These very qualities allowed James W...

read more
Me and My Angel

Me and My Angel

by Eastman, Robert

Me and My Angel covers 63 years of a life well-lived that circled the globe. Robert Eastman's story is focused around 19 incidents when his life-and the lives of those around him-were in danger and an angelic presence stepped in to save him...

read more
The Wedding That Changed My Life

The Wedding That Changed My Life

by Springer, Patricia K.

This is the story of Catherine-a woman who was sexually abused as a child and was never able to trust men-and Gabe, the man who, in the end, offered her true love and redemption. Catherine was afraid of boys as a young girl and never really had a boyfriend. After two failed marriages, she nearly had a nervous breakdown. Then she invented Mr...

read more
Veil of Light, The

Veil of Light, The

by Michelsen, G.S.

Part I takes place on the Planet, Vonbemar. A young woman, Anna, is transported to an alien planet, Vonbemar, where she begins having contorted and tumultuous adventures. The journey teaches her self-reliance and develops her inner strength. This prepares her for what she will face later on Earth . . .Part II takes place on Earth...

read more
Race For Doroon

Race For Doroon

by Hartman, Gloria Jean

Take a wild ride on a Keeborn cat and experience new worlds!Keeborns are the Guardian Sect of what was once an ideal Kee Nation, but impending destruction of their beautiful world forces the Keeborns to flee to Doroon, their new home planet...

read more
Protected by the Enemy

Protected by the Enemy

by Maack, Annelore

What is a war, Mama? asks eight-year-old Rachel on September 1, 1939. But her mother cannot answer such a weighty question. Many years later, a host of historians and politicians offer their opinions, explaining why World War II happened and what provoked it...

read more
Dorothy's Stormy Lake

Dorothy's Stormy Lake

by Wooliver, Joan

Born in England in 1898, Dorothy Douglas emigrated to the United States in her early teens, graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of California at Berkeley. She then studied art in Belgium, taught school in the Philippine Islands, and traveled through the world. After recieving her master's degree, Dorothy spent the next several years as a social worker in the San Francisco area...

read more
Whose Death in the Tunnel?

Whose Death in the Tunnel?

by Becker, Aaron McCallum

She is the most admired, talked about and photographed woman in the world, but her life is embroiled in trauma, betrayal and make-believe love. As her marriage falls apart and her divorce is mandated by powers she cannot control, she becomes entrapped in a nightmare, held prisoner by her husbands family, the press and unrelenting tradition...

read more
Stefi

Stefi

by Paschall, Jenny

Sue K. is an attractive, accomplished production executive, whose acerbic wit and somewhat jaundiced outlook often prove intellectually challenging but romantically disastrous. This-coupled with a nightmarish mother and a certain sense of caution-results in the dissolution of Sue's relationship with Matt, her best friend and lover...

read more
Forty Acres

Forty Acres

by Murrin, Gerard F.

This spellbinding tale, filled with engaging characters, heroes and villains alike, confronts the land-use crisis in America. With chilling affect, this story foreshadows the look and feel of the mid-21st-century given the continued loss of land to commercial and residential development...

read more
The Small Business Millionaire

The Small Business Millionaire

by Chandler, Steve

This riveting story about heartbreak and prosperity holds plenty of drama and suspense. Frank Mills and his daughter Jennifer are deeply in debt and struggling to make ends meet when a robbery occurs at their little restaurant in the sleepy town of Royal Oak, Michigan. Fortunately a bright young millionaire named Jonathan Berkley is available to advise them...

read more
Yalla!

Yalla!

by Ingram, Colin

Everyone has a story, but some lives are endowed with more than their share of drama and challenges. And sometimes, by dint of extraordinary effort, these challenges become opportunities. Such is the case with the life of Alejandro Modena. With enough twists and turns for a dozen lifetimes, here are a few of author Alejandro Modena's true stories about when.....

read more
Silver Dreams

Silver Dreams

by Newman, Sondra Rice

Silver Dreams is the story of advertising executive Leigh Meredith, who finds herself jilted and alone on Christmas Eve. Devastated, she deserts the plush boardrooms of Manhattan for life in the Virginia horse country and a job at a weekly newspaper. Fate leads her to rescue an abandoned, one-eyed horse named Silver Dreams...

read more
Jackson Choice

Jackson Choice

by Murrin, Gerard F.

Disillusioned with his career and affected by divorce, Casey Borlen moves to the small town of Jackson to start a new life at a slower pace. But he finds more challenges in this bucolic setting than he expected and discovers weaknesses and strengths he did not know he had...

read more
The Jade Head

The Jade Head

by Grady, Patrick

After getting sacked from his job, Bob Wayne gives in to his urge to escape to the tropics for what he hopes will be a Hemingway-esque adventure. Soon after arriving in Belize, he becomes involved with a colorful collection of local characters...

read more
John's Diary

John's Diary

by Hogan, James

When Jason Hammerlick packs his bags and heads off to The University, little does he know he will soon be thrown into a dark world of death and intrigue. An innocent and naive recent high school graduate, Jason quickly becomes friends with the first group of students he meets, although he knows nothing about them...

read more
The Beanery

The Beanery

by Settle DDS, James W.

The Beanery: A Village Named Ormsbyis an orphan's story of tough love, comic relief, and reaching for the American dream.The Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home provided a difficult and austere beginning for James W. Settle, D.D.S. However, he also received an excellent education at the Children's Home and went on to live a full, rich life filled with community service...

read more

Similar Titles

  • Degree of Normal
  • The Shattering II
  • Teaching School is a Scream!
  • From the Heart
  • My Story in Black and White
  • HOLLYWOOD From Below the Line
  • The Sacred Art of Clowning... and Life!
  • Jumping Over the Moon
  • Chez Paradise
  • Consensual Consequences
  • Hobo Sapien
  • SHOOTING THE MAILBOX
  • Angel on Call
  • Gringa in a Strange Land
  • The Quander Quality
  • Me and My Angel
  • The Wedding That Changed My Life
  • Veil of Light, The
  • Race For Doroon
  • Protected by the Enemy
  • Dorothy's Stormy Lake
  • Whose Death in the Tunnel?
  • Stefi
  • Forty Acres
  • The Small Business Millionaire
  • Yalla!
  • Silver Dreams
  • Jackson Choice
  • The Jade Head
  • John's Diary
  • The Beanery
  • INVISIBLE: Surviving the Cambodian Genocide