Take one normal girl.

Add a lifetime of co-dependency and “earning” love and a passion for perfectionism. Liberally season with self-flagellation of the worst kind.

Slowly mix in one failed marriage.

Combine with a penchant for disassociating.

Add a pinch of happiness and hope. Layer with one very large jerk. Make sure this asshole is a real dickhead - the kind that lures her in, all charm and hurt and love and “realness.”

Let this mixture sit for four months.

At the end of four months, whip it and beat it and toss it and turn it until the girl can no longer trust anyone, or breathe without hurting.

Over the next several months, add one skin-peeling counseling session per week. Regularly whip furiously with severe stress and money problems.

The recipe then calls for the addition of one really good man. Make sure he is kind and gentle, with eyes that are safe to look into. Test his heart first, to make sure he is worthy of the task at hand. Not every man chosen is.

Please note that this dish takes a long time to prepare and the results are uncertain at best. The end product could be a healthy, happy girl with the world at her feet. Some other results have seen a neurotic, untrusting girl who throws everything away.

A lot of it depends on the ingredient unnamed above: the arms of Grace. The more she trusts Him, the more likely the recipe will come out right. Only time will tell, though.

On the apex,

michelle