Peg Barton

Her Normal His Reality Peg Barton

Jake swears he's normal. Maggie swears she can rescue him from dysfunction.



With a nurse for a mom and an army doctor for a dad, Maggie moved around a lot. But after her dad's last tour, they finally put down roots in Alexandria, Virginia. While attending college and ultimately becoming a physical therapist, Maggie meets Jake, a fellow military brat, and falls in love. Soon, she sees Jake is struggling. He can't seem to escape the old patterns of dysfunction from his childhood. When Maggie starts to feel the pull toward unhealthy behavior herself, she wonders if she can help Jake or if he's beyond her reach. Then she meets Liam...and everything gets complicated.



Jake hasn't ever been normal, and that's just reality. But he's trying. After Maggie leaves, everything changes. When he moves from Virginia to New York, he's on the road to recovery. He gets into therapy and sticks with it. He even meets Jennifer and discovers he can love again. But even if Jake is a new man, it doesn't mean that the past won't catch up to him. The question is whether he can overcome the challenge when it does.